


Above Ground

by S_C_R_Far



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-10-25
Packaged: 2018-06-09 02:32:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 53,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6885541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S_C_R_Far/pseuds/S_C_R_Far
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life on the surface was everything that monsters had hoped for, and more. But when a threat arises, how will Frisk and friends respond?</p><p>Things to know:<br/>-Frisk is a female, aged 18<br/>-Toriel/Asgore<br/>-Undyne/Papyrus</p><p>PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE. IT'S LABLED AS CHAPTER 3.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! A quick note before you dive in; the story has kind of a slow start, but there's a plot, I promise! Little bits and pieces are mixed in with the rest of it. Enjoy, and thanks so much for reading!

**Prologue**

  
     “Extra, extra! Read all about it! Barrier shattered! Monsters free to come and go as we please!”  
     The headline said it all. ‘Barrier Busted, Frisk Brings Freedom to Monsterkind.’ The word had finally spread, and the small monster child was doing his part in making sure everyone heard the news.  
     Although it didn’t happen in the way everyone expected it to, the Barrier had indeed been broken, and it was largely due to Frisk’s actions. But not by her death, and not by the collection of her soul. Rather, the way she showed compassion, and the way she fought to set things right.  
     Nevertheless, everyone seemed excited. The monsters were no longer trapped in the Underground. They could roam free in the human world. The possibilities were endless.  
     Very few wouldn’t even leave the Underground, perfectly content staying in the safety of their own backyards. The surface world was uncharted territory, after all. But, as to be expected, there were packs of brave souls ready to follow the trail that Frisk and her friends had blazed.

~~~

     Frisk, Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys and Asgore began their new lives on the surface. After taking some time to go on a small vacation, they got a place where they could all stay together. Toriel opened a school that anyone was welcome to attend, Undyne continued trying to teach Papyrus how to cook, Sans kept cool, Alphys rediscovered her passion for science, and Asgore kept a protective watch over them all. They were having fun, and things were working out.  
     Frisk was doing a great job gently introducing the monsters to the humans and vice versa. Things were as normal as they could be, given the situation. There was peace, for lack of a better word.  
     But, seeing as how humans themselves have trouble getting along with one other, not everything was perfect. There was tension. And where there is tension, conflict is just on the horizon.

 

 

**Chapter 1**  
About One Year Later…

     “Dinner’s ready!” Papyrus called from the kitchen. The others filtered in from all corners of the large house that they all shared.  
     “Oh boy, spaghetti. Again,” Sans observed. Toriel elbowed him in the arm. “I mean… oh boy! Spaghetti again!”  
     “That’s better,” Toriel said. “Papyrus, thank you for cooking this week. I’m sure everyone was getting tired of butterscotch pie and escargot.”  
     “Impossible!” Asgore bellowed.  
     “I was definitely getting tired of butterscotch pie and escargot,” Undyne commented. “Escargot is too slimy for me. Hits kinda close to home. It’s almost like cannibalism,” she added with a shudder.  
     Toriel’s brow arched in concern. “Why didn’t you say anything before, dear?”  
     “Because she’s a big ol’ softy who doesn’t really want to hurt anyone’s feelings,” Frisk said with a smile, dishing out some spaghetti for both her and Alphys.  
     “Frisk I will kill you,” Undyne said through gritted teeth, a slight blush coloring her face. Frisk simply laughed in response.  
     “Now now, children,” Asgore said in an exaggerated parental tone, “no threatening to kill each other at the dinner table. Pass the pasta.”  
     Alphys took the bowl from Frisk and handed it across the table to Asgore, completely skipping past Papyrus and Undyne.  
     “Hey!” Papyrus objected. “I made that, you know! Don’t I get any?”  
     “The chef eats last. Haven’t you learned?” Alphys mocked, sticking her tongue out.  
     “Relax, bro,” Sans said. “It’ll just go right through you anyway. What’s the rush?” Papyrus, defeated, slumped down in his chair.  
     Undyne giggled. “Here, Grumpy Gills.” She took the bowl from Asgore and scooped a big spoonful onto Papyrus’ plate, then gave herself about double that amount.  
     “Gonna save any for The Queen and I?” Sans joked.  
     “Wasn’t planning on it,” Undyne shot back. But she passed what was left of the spaghetti around the table anyway until it got to Toriel.  
     Toriel looked into the bowl, which had a disappointing amount of noodles left inside, then looked over at Sans. “You didn’t really want any, did you?”  
     Sans sighed. “I’ll just mooch off of the big guy,” he said, motioning towards Asgore, who was already digging in. Everyone followed suit.  
     Life on the surface was great. The whole gang was a family. All crashing under the same roof, all putting in their fair share of work, the inside jokes, the time well spent, it was picturesque. Dysfunctional, absolutely. But none of them would have it any other way.  
     The house was a safe distance away from both monster and human. The humans, of course, had their own established towns and cities that some monsters were still relatively wary of visiting. So they tried to build up their own towns until it was a little bit more acceptable for everyone to be meshed together, something Frisk was working hard at.  
     She wrote letters, reports, research papers. She delivered speeches. Never traveling too far from home, she did her best to get word out that monsters are not, well, monsters. And while the humans may not all agree yet, Frisk’s words definitely got around. As the Ambassador, she made global news. Mostly from the comfort of her home office.  
     Although the Barrier had been broken for almost one whole year, humans and monsters were still only slightly integrated. While it wasn’t unusual to see both monsters and humans at the park, or at the grocery store, it still made both parties a little uneasy. But fortunately, everyone got along superficially, and that would have to do for the time being.  
     Asgore dropped his silverware onto his empty plate, and it clanked sharply, disrupting the silence. Content, he sighed. “What’s for dessert?” he joked. All eyes shifted towards Papyrus.  
     He slouched a little. “I didn’t, uh, make any. I didn’t make dessert.” Sans feigned severe disappointment, and likewise, Frisk put her head down on the table. “Oh, come on!” Papyrus shouted. “You all know that spaghetti is all I can make! That’s all Undyne ever taught me how to cook.”  
     Frisk lifted her head. “Oh yeah, that’s right! I forgot that Undyne can cook, too.”  
     “Not very well,” Undyne scoffed, standing up and collecting everyone’s empty plates and silverware.  
     “Well look who just volunteered to do the dishes tonight!” Alphys remarked when Undyne took her plate.  
     Undyne rolled her eye. “You’d think that by now a revered scientist such as yourself would have invented some sort of self operating dish cleaning machine.”  
     “You mean a dishwasher?” Frisk said. “They come standard in just about every house.”  
     “Have we had one all this time?” Toriel asked, standing up to assist Undyne. She looked towards the kitchen. “Think of all the time we’ve wasted!”  
     “And everything that you’ve broken with your aggressive scrubbing,” Papyrus added, inspecting the chip missing from the edge of his plate. He handed it to Undyne.  
     Toriel shot Papyrus a disapproving glare. “Well maybe if those of us with little to no muscle washed the dishes more often.”  
     “Yeah, Frisk!” Papyrus yelled in an attempt to draw attention away from himself, something he rarely wanted. “Besides, you’re the one who’s withheld the dishwasher from us for a year.”  
     “I’d love to, but I’m exempt from dish duty,” she said matter-of-factly, although she did take her own plate to the sink so Undyne wouldn’t have to. “I have a letter to write, anyway.”  
     “Really? I was hoping we could do something cool this evening,” Sans said.  
     “Yeah, I was hoping to test out the drone I just finished putting together,” Alphys added.  
“I said something _cool_ , Alph,” Sans mocked, though he wore a smile. Alphys stuck her tongue out at him. “I was actually thinking about hitting the city. Bro, you wanna come?”  
     “Me?” Papyrus asked.  
     “Yeah. I mean, you’re the only one of us who has a driver’s license so far,” Sans explained. “Gotta get there somehow.”  
     “I’m working on getting my license, guys. Soon poor Papyrus won’t have to shuttle everyone around,” Undyne said.  
     “Oh, please” Alphys said. “By the time you get your driver’s license, I’ll have invented a self operating driving machine so simple that Lesser Dog could use it. I am a revered scientist, after all.”  
     “You’re lucky we’re friends, Alphys, or else there would be spaghetti sauce all over your nice, white lab coat right now,” Undyne growled.  
     Papyrus shrugged. “Well, she’s not wrong,” he said. “Alright, fine, yeah, I’ll go,” he agreed. “Why not? It could be fun,” he continued. “Two brothers, out on the town!"  
     “Actually, if you guys don’t mind, I’d like to tag along,” Frisk said. “If you give me some time to churn out this letter real quick, I can go ahead and mail it while we’re in town.”  
     “Two brothers, and Frisk, out on the town!” Papyrus said with significantly less enthusiasm.  
     “Sure, kiddo. Better get writing. I’ve got places to be,” Sans winked.  
     “Who is this letter for?” Toriel asked.  
     Frisk took a towel, wiped off her hands, then casually tossed the towel over her shoulder. “The governor of Rhode Island. The state is so small, I figure it would be a good place for a colony of monsters to come together. I’m writing to explain my thinking, and to arrange for her to come for a visit.”  
     As a part of Frisk’s work to integrate humans and monsters, she would often have public officials meet her friends, then have them tour the nearest monster village. She knew that in this world, first impressions are everything, and she figured that if any monsters were to give a good first impression, it would be her friends. Plus, she had the King and Queen of the Underground on her side. That alone was sure to offer some bonus points.  
     The monster town closest to where the gang was living was called Hill Valley. Most of the monsters that Frisk had encountered while in the Underground had settled there, not too far from the Barrier. They knew Frisk, and Frisk knew them. Everyone there was nice.  
     Hill Valley was practically a clone of Snowdin. Grillby’s was open for business, although it was downgraded to a food truck for the time being. The library and the shops were there too, even though they were simply a stack of items behind a well built wooden counter. Even so, it was an honest little town where monsters tried to make honest lives for themselves. A perfect place to show the rest of the world, and a great example of what monsterkind has to offer.  
     “I’m going to go get started. I’ll be up in my office then if anyone needs me.” Frisk trotted up the stairs to the second story of the house. She walked about halfway down the hallway, passing the room that Sans and Papyrus shared, then turned into her office, shutting the door behind her.  
     She sat down in her chair, pushed her laptop to the side, put a pair of thick framed glasses on, and got a stack of embellished paper from one of the desk drawers. The paper had gold ribbon drawn around the margins, making a nice border, and at the very top of every sheet, ‘From the desk of Frisk Dreemurr’ was printed. But before she could get started, there was a knock at the door.  
     Slightly irritated, she sighed and backed her chair away from her desk, and turned it towards the door. “Come in.”  
     Undyne cracked the door open and poked her head in. “Hey, hate to bother you, but I just wanted to let you know that Asgore found a butterscotch pie in the freezer and he’s going to cut a slice for everyone. You want one?”  
     Frisk took her glasses off. “Yeah sure, save me one for later, okay? I’ve gotta get this letter done before Sans wants to leave for the city.”  
     “Sure thing, nerd,” Undyne said, sporting her usual huge smile. “Hop to it,” she added, shutting the door, not leaving Frisk enough time for a sassy comeback.  
     Frisk let out a small breath of laughter and put her glasses back on. She wheeled her chair back to it’s place at the desk. “Let’s get to work,” she said, cracking her knuckles and picking up a pen.

Governor Raimondo,  
  
     Firstly, thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I realize that as an elected official, you must be busy with not only local affairs, but statewide and national issues as well.  
     As you know, the Barrier has been gone for almost a year now. The monsters have been freed, and now roam around and live amongst us humans. Even so, equality has been a struggle to obtain. One year is not enough time to evoke lasting change around the country, let alone the world. Monsters still cannot work in the same establishments as humans, monster children cannot attend the same schools as human children, and discrimination is still evident on city streets and in public places.  
     My goal as Ambassador is to rid the world of those negative thoughts and actions to the best of my ability. Due to unique circumstances, I’ve gotten to know some very nice monsters who deserve the best that life here on the surface has to offer. That being said, monsters themselves have a lot to offer in return.  
     They are not different than humans in any way other than appearance. They too have skills, hopes, dreams, feelings and ideas. They fit right in, although too little people realize it.  
     I would like to extend an invitation to you to come visit myself and my friends here at our home, about 25 miles northeast of Cheyenne, Wyoming. I would also like to take you on a tour of the nearest monster village, Hill Valley, to show you how the monsters live their day to day lives.  
     Most of the monsters who have come to the surface have stayed relatively close to where the Barrier had been, still wary of the ever present risks of interacting with those who do not yet understand. I would like to help the monsters make their way around the country, and the world, with little to no trouble.  
     Rhode Island is a lovely state, albeit the smallest. In my own personal opinion, I think it would be a nice, quiet location for a few families of monsters to settle down.

     The words flowed out of Frisk’s mind effortlessly. She knew exactly what she wanted to say and how she wanted to say it. But as she wrote, a strange sensation fell over her. She suddenly became overwhelmingly tired. She furrowed her brow in confusion about her own condition, and tried hard to keep writing.  
     She fought sleep as hard as a small child would, but sleep won. Without warning, her eyes bolted shut and her head slammed down on her desk.  
     Frisk found herself in a dark room, looking around aimlessly at the inky black emptiness that surrounded her. Was it a dream? An empty, disappointing dream? Very faintly, she heard a voice calling.  
     “Frisk? Frisk?”  
     She turned her head around so fast that she could have given herself whiplash. “Hello? Who’s there?”  
     “Frisk!” The voice was a little louder this time around.  
     “What?” Frisk replied, half irritated, half frightened.  
     “Finally! I’ve tried so hard…”  
     “What is this?” What’s going on?” Frisk turned around again, and met none other than Asriel Dreemurr face to face. Not the young Asriel that had to be left behind, but the one who looked to be about her age. The Asriel that she had fought.  
     She took a step back, and was scared breathless. “A-Asriel?”  
     He smiled warmly. “I’ve tried so hard to reach you. I’m glad I was finally able to.”  
     “But how… how are you… I mean, how…”  
     Asriel, once a clear image, began to fade. He winced, seemingly in pain. “Drat… I knew I probably couldn’t keep this up for very long.”  
     “Asriel, what’s going on?” Frisk asked, her voice shaky.  
     “I’ll have to explain later, okay? I’m running out of energy. Heh. It was good… to see you… again… Frisk… talk to you… later…”  
     And just like that, Asriel was gone.  
     Frisk put her hands on her head and shut her eyes tightly, not understanding what had just occurred. She could almost still hear his voice calling her.  
     “Frisk… Frisk? Frisk!”


	2. Chapter 2

     “Frisk… Frisk? Frisk!”  
     Frisk felt a hand on her shoulder, and jolted awake. She turned to see who was there, and was so startled at the sight of Toriel hovering over her that she nearly fell out of her chair.  
     “My goodness, Frisk! Is everything okay?”  
     Frisk’s breathing was heavy. She placed a hand over her heart. It was thumping like mad. “Yeah, I… I must have nodded off. You scared me awake,” she said, forcing a small breath of laughter.  
     “I knocked on the door but you didn’t answer, so I just came in. I wanted to tell you that Sans would like to leave soon. Are you almost ready?”  
     “Shoot. Yeah, hold on.” Frisk quickly reviewed what she had already written, and grabbed her pen to add a concluding statement.

     I understand that you are a very busy individual, but I feel as if this is a pressing issue, and I would love to have your support. Please contact me if you have any questions. Again, thank you for your time.

          ~Frisk Dreemurr  
          Human Ambassador of the Monsters to the Humans

     “Done,” she said, holding the letter up. “Good thing I made the envelope up yesterday.” She opened up another desk drawer and retrieved an envelope already addressed to the governor. She folded the letter, stuffed it in the envelope, and sealed it shut. “Ready.”  
     Toriel smiled. “Good job, my child. I am so proud of you,” she said.  
     “Thanks, Mom,” Frisk said, smiling in return. She stood up and walked away from her desk. “Do you think I have time for a piece of pie before Sans, Papyrus and I head out?”  
     “I’m sure you do,” Toriel said, placing a hand on Frisk’s back and following her out of the room.   
     The two made their way downstairs. Toriel turned left into the living room, while Frisk took a right and headed for the kitchen.  
     “You ready?” Sans called from the living room.  
     “Can I eat this pie first?” Frisk asked, with a satisfying bite of her dessert already in her mouth.  
     “You can eat it in the car.”  
     “There will be no eating in my car!” Papyrus objected.  
     “Why are you in such a hurry anyway, Sans?” she inquired, settling for half of the piece of pie. She put the rest back into the fridge.  
     “I’m not in a hurry,” he said in defense. “I’m chill.”  
     Frisk washed her hands then joined everyone else in the living room. “Where are Dad and Alphys?” she asked.  
     “Out flying that drone that Alphys built,” said Papyrus, who was looking out the screen door window. “And I’m not at all envious. I’d so rather go to the city,” he added unconvincingly.  
     Frisk walked over and joined him at the window. Asgore and Alphys were taking turns controlling the drone, which was actually flying pretty smoothly. She looked out across the patch of flat land that they owned and gazed at the mountains. She never got tired of that view.

     “Ready, Freddy?” Sans said.  
     “Who is Freddy?” Papyrus replied.  
     “It’s a figure of speech,” Frisk explained. She grabbed a light jacket off of the coat rack and put the letter in her pocket. “Let’s go.”  
     It was a little bit chilly, so Papyrus kept the top of his bright red convertible on. Not as if the cold bothered him and Sans, but they wanted Frisk to stay warm. After maneuvering out of their driveway and finding the nearest road, they were on their way to the big city. Otherwise known as Cheyenne, Wyoming.   
     Papyrus kept his eyes on the road, and Sans was messing with the radio. After flipping through all of the stations at lease once, he finally settled on a station playing classic rock.  
     “I wish there was a radio station that played music that us monsters like. The only thing that would make this mini road trip any better is if we were cruising down the highway with Megalovania playing full volume,” Papyrus commented.  
     A lightbulb went off in Frisk’s head. “Papyrus, that’s a great idea!” she said. “A monster radio station! With monster DJs who play monster music!”  
     “I dig it,” Sans said.  
     “Sans you would make the coolest radio personality,” Frisk told him.  
     “Yeah, you have the perfect face for it!” Papyrus joked. Sans shrugged it off.  
     “Mettaton could have his own radio show, too. I bet he would love that,” Frisk said. She thought for a few seconds. “Or, and I know this is a stretch, but maybe a TV station!” she exclaimed. “Or both!”  
     “Slow down there, Doctor Ambition,” Sans laughed. “Great ideas, all of them, but one step at a time, okay?”  
     “I know, I know,” Frisk said, waving her hands. “But this can really happen! Listen…”  
     Frisk talked about her idea at seemingly a thousand words a minute, non-stop, until they got to the city and found a decent parking spot. Sans was as chill as ever, but it was all Papyrus could do to not throw her out of the car.  
     “Okay, Sans, here we are. Now what’s the plan?” he asked, getting out of the car and putting some money in a parking meter. Frisk and Sans got out of the car too, and Frisk stretched.  
     “There is no plan,” he replied, sticking his hands in his pockets. “That’s the beauty of this evening, my brother.”   
     “No plan?” Papyrus shrieked. “Then why were you so adamant to come here?” He didn’t leave enough time in between sentences for Sans to actually answer him. “You know what? It’s okay. This is fine.”  
     “Why don’t you two go do whatever it is that skeletons do in the city, and I’ll head to the post office to mail this bad boy,” Frisk suggested. She looked around for some sort of landmark that they could establish as a meeting place. “We can meet at that coffee shop across the street over there at 9 o’clock, then head home.”  
     Sans checked his phone. 7:24. “Sounds good to me.”  
     “So we’re just going to let Frisk roam around the city by herself?” Papyrus said. “I don’t think Toriel would like that…”  
     “Is Toriel here?” Sans asked.  
     “Well, no, but…”  
     “I’ll be fine, Papyrus,” Frisk smiled. “But thank you for your concern. See you guys later!”  
     “Call either one of us if you need anything,” Sans said, beginning to walk backwards. “Come on, Pap.”  
     “Be careful, Frisk,” he said, reluctantly following Sans.  
     “Will do! You guys, too.” She turned around and made her way down the street, not exactly sure where she was going.  
     She took some time to stroll down the street before deciding to actually make her way to a post office. She looked at the city lights, a rare sight. It was considered a treat or a road trip when she or anyone else in the house got to go to the big city.   
     She watched people scurry by. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry. She looked in the windows of some of the fanciest shops she had ever seen. Bejeweled cowboys hats and boots, shiny enough to almost glow in the dark, adorned display cases up and down the street.  
     “Undyne would look ridiculous in those,” she laughed to herself before moving on. “I bet Papyrus could pull it off, though.”  
     After making her way through a few of the larger streets without being able to find a post office, she stopped into a department store to ask for directions. She was pointed in the right direction, and headed that way.  
     The post office was different from the one that her and the gang used in a much smaller town much closer to them. It looked as if it were meant to be more organized, yet it was still chaotic. There were post office boxes far above Frisk’s reach. She elected to just drop the letter in one of the two blue mail barrels outside.  
     She tried to open the latch on one of them, but to no avail. It must have been closed too tightly, as it was pretty stuck. She moved onto the next one, with the same result.  
     “Oh, come on,” she mumbled, looking around out of the corners of her eyes to make sure no one was watching her struggle. She took a deep breath and tried again.  
     Just then, someone from a little ways down the street jogged over to her.  
     “Here, let me help,” they said.  
     Frisk looked over at the person. It was a young man, probably around her age or maybe a year or so older. He had dark brown hair, which was styled to flow upwards, but at the same time, it was charmingly messy.   
     “These are really hard to open. Not too many people use them,” he said. He gripped the latch’s handle with both hands, put a foot on the barrel for leverage, then gave it a few good tugs. The rusty flap flew open. “There!” he smiled, brushing his hands together.  
     “Thanks,” Frisk said, thoroughly appreciating his bright smile. For a moment she looked into his warm, brown eyes, then promptly darted her eyes down to his shoes when she felt herself blushing. Even his shoes were nice. She instinctively reached for a strand of her shoulder length, brown hair, but forgot she had it tied back in a ponytail.  
     “Thanks for your help,” she repeated, regaining her composure and returning her gaze to his face. She took a mental note of his chiseled jawline.   
     “Not a problem! See you around,” he replied. He waved and continued his stride down the street to wherever he had been going.  
     “Yeah, see ya!” She yelled after him, immediately wishing she hadn’t. She face-palmed, sighed, and walked away in the opposite direction.  
     Frisk checked her phone. She had a text message accompanied by a picture from Alphys. She sent it in a group message to Sans, too.  
      _‘I attached a grip claw to the drone. We used it to put one of Papyrus’ scarves on the roof. Think he’ll notice?’_ the text read. The picture was a selfie of Alphys and Asgore giving a thumbs-up, with the house in the background. She could see a red scarf laying on the roof.   
      _‘Haha! Let’s see how long it takes him,’_ Frisk replied. She looked at the time. 8:37.   
     “Better head back,” she said to herself. She pushed her phone back into her jeans pockets and picked up the pace a little bit.  
     Frisk arrived at the designated coffee shop just a few minutes before nine. Sans and Papyrus weren’t there yet, but she went inside anyway. She got her phone out to text Papyrus and tell him that she was there. She saw a reply from Alphys.  
      _‘When are you all getting home? Toriel is asking.’_  
 _‘Getting a coffee then heading out,’_ Frisk typed back.  
     Normal teenagers would have probably rolled their eyes at the overprotective nature of Toriel, or any mother figure, for that matter. But Frisk welcomed it. She felt more of a parent/child connection to Toriel and Asgore than she ever had with her actual human parents.  
     Though it had never been said, the housemates knew that Toriel and Asgore had reconciled. Toriel eventually began acting affectionately towards him again, and they both clearly took great pride in acting as leaders of the household and parental units.  
     Frisk was lost in thought when Sans and Papyrus walked in. The jingle of the bell above the door snapped her back to attention.  
     “Hey, kid,” Sans greeted her.  
     “Have fun, guys?” she asked them.  
     “Did we ever!” Papyrus exclaimed. “We-”  
     Sans elbowed him in the arm, cutting his sentence short. He looked at the human barista behind the counter. “We’ll tell you all about it in the car,” he said.   
     Frisk furrowed her brow. “Uh, okay.” She walked up to the counter. “What do you guys want to drink?”  
     “Just a black coffee,” Sans answered.  
     “I’ll get my own. I’m going to get a golden flower tea for myself, and one for Undyne. But thanks!” Papyrus said.  
     Frisk nodded and placed her and Sans’ order, then stepped aside so Papyrus could order. They got their drinks, then headed back to the car. Once they were back on the road, Fisk asked the brothers about their evening.  
     “So, what did you guys do that was so secretive that you couldn’t tell me about it in the coffee shop?”  
     “Yeah, Sans. Why didn’t you let me tell her?” Papyrus asked.  
     “Because, guys. I don’t want too many humans finding out about the place,” he answered. He turned around in his seat as much as he could so he could look at Frisk. “We went to a monsters-only hangout. It’s just a grungy basement somewhere on 5th Street, but still. It’s pretty cool there.”  
     “Oh, really? Sounds cool,” Frisk said.  
     “It really is!” Papyrus grinned. “It’s a really neat place for monsters to gather and ‘just chill.’”  
     “Just chill?” Frisk repeated, in the same tone as Papyrus had said it.  
     “Yeah, like, listen to music, read books, play pool, drink spider cider,” Sans explained.  
     “Oh, got it! Sounds like my kinda scene. Can I come with you guys next time?”  
     “Monsters-only. Sorry, kid,” Sans said.  
     “But I’m the Ambassador!” Frisk argued. Sans shrugged. “Alright, fine,” she said, not actually too upset. She took a sip of her coffee.   
     A few minutes later, she felt herself getting tired, so she took another drink. Despite the caffeine, her eyes grew heavy. She shook her head, trying to fight it off, but her head slumped forward and she was out cold.  
     She once again found herself in a black void.   
     “This again?” she said to herself. “But wait, does that mean…” she looked around, but couldn’t see a thing. She couldn’t tell if it was because it was too dark, or because there was simply nothing in the room.  
     “Asriel..?” she called hesitantly. “Is this you again?”  
     “Yes, but…” a distant voice answered.  
     Frisk looked down at her own hands to make sure that things in the room were visible. She could see them, and herself, but not Asriel. “Where are you? Wh- what is this?”  
     His image faintly appeared, coming into view as if someone had turned on a television. He was down on one knee with his head down and a fist on the ground.  
     Frisk let out a little gasp. “Asriel!” Slowly, she took a few steps towards him. “Are you… hurt?”  
     “No. Well, yes, but no.” he replied. “I thought that I could do this. Guess I was wrong.”  
     “What are you talking about?”  
     “Talking to you… in this manner… it takes a lot of energy. Something I don’t have a whole bunch of right now.”   
     Frisk was entirely baffled. She couldn’t believe that she was talking to Asriel again. She was so awestruck that she almost couldn’t speak, even though she had so much to say.  
     “Don’t… don’t hurt yourself. Don’t push it,” she finally spit out.  
     “You’re right,” Asriel said through gritted teeth. “I’ll give myself a good rest. Then try again.”   
     Frisk tried to get closer to him, but as she did, her view of him became blurred and jumbled, as if there was static between them. Just like that, he was gone.  
     “But wait!” she called, but it was too late. She felt herself waking up.  
     She opened her eyes to find that she was now laying down almost fully stretched out in the backseat. She listened very closely for any remnants of Asriel, but it was quiet. The only sound was the radio, which was also turned down low. A spunky pop-star was singing about boys.  
     She sat up and stretched, almost spilling her coffee, which, to her surprise, she hadn’t spilled already.  
     Sans caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. “Hey there, Sleepy Face.”  
     “How long was I out?” Frisk asked groggily.   
     “Quite some time,” Papyrus answered vaguely. “We’re almost home.”  
     “Oh…” That concerned her. Her conversation with Asriel apparently took longer in real time than it did when she was experiencing it. If it were to happen again, that could be dangerous.   
     “Everything okay?” Sans asked. “Coffee’s supposed to keep you awake, not put you to sleep.”  
     “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” she answered. “Just a really odd kind of tired.”  
     “Maybe you should call it a night when we get back,” Papyrus said, turning onto a backroad that would eventually lead to their extensive driveway.  
     “I think I will…”  
     In a matter of moments, they had arrived back home, and Papyrus had parked in the huge, multi-car garage. His car was the only one in there.  
     “I wonder what kind of car Undyne will get when she gets her driver’s license,” Frisk pondered, looking around at all the empty parking spots in the garage.   
     “Good thing she has a long time to think about it,” Sans said. He was the first to get out of the car.  
     “Hopefully not too much longer,” Papyrus added. “It makes me nervous that she has to practice using my car.”  
     “What about you, kid? Think you might wanna get your driver’s license?” Sans asked.   
     “I’m not sure,” Frisk said. “I mean, I guess it’d be nice, and convenient, but I don’t really need it. What about you, Sans?”  
     “Nah, too much work,” he answered with little to no thought.  
     “Do you think Alphys would ever get hers?” Frisk wondered.  
     “Ha! She’d probably sooner build a teleportation device,” Papyrus said. He took a sip of his tea as he carefully held Undyne’s in his other hand.   
     Sans opened the door that led from the garage to the mud room of the house, and motioned for Frisk and Papyrus to go ahead in. The three of them walked into the living room together, almost triumphantly.   
     Everyone had claimed a seat, and they were watching a made-for-TV movie.  
     “Welcome back!” Toriel greeted them.   
     Papyrus walked over and stood beside where Undyne was sitting on the couch. “I brought you some golden flower tea,” he said, extending the cup out to her.  
     She blushed faintly. “Thanks, Papyrus.” She took the cup from him and took a few gulps.  
     “Hey wait a minute. How come you brought some for her and not for me?” Asgore said. Undyne gave a small smile and looked up at Papyrus, anticipating his answer.  
     “I… uh, well, um-” Papyrus stuttered. “I suppose this one was for you, but, uh, I drank most of it,” he finally said, chuckling uncomfortably as he handed Asgore his cup of tea, which was more than halfway gone.  
     Asgore huffed out a single breath of laughter. “Keep it,” he said.  
     “Find a seat, you all,” Toriel said. “The movie’s just getting good.”  
     “What’s on?” Frisk asked, plopping down on the other side of the small couch that Alphys was sitting on. Papyrus sat on the other couch, in between Undyne and Toriel, and Sans took a recliner beside the one that Asgore always claimed.  
     “It’s called ‘A Sprinkle In Time’. It’s about a cookie baker who gets transported to the future, doesn’t like what she sees, then goes back to present day to fix everything,” Alphys explained.  
     “Is it good so far?” Papyrus asked.  
     “It’s only okay,” Undyne shrugged.  
     “Yeah… only okay,” Asgore repeated, pushing away the box of tissues he kept on the end table beside his chair.  
     “Frisk, weren’t you going to get some sleep?” Sans reminded her.  
     “I can wait until the movie’s over,” she said. She hunkered down further into the couch until she was comfortable.  
     The movie may have been extremely cheesy, but she had great company, so she didn’t mind. After only a few minutes, she drifted off to sleep right there on the couch.


	3. Author's Note (Not actually a chapter.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is super important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, this is super important. Just clarifying something that I didn't think would be an issue.

_**Author’s Note** _

     Hey there, friends! We need to talk.  
     I’ve recently received a handful of hilarious comments accusing me of being homophobic and ignorant. One Guest even suggested that I kill myself. (Haha! That’s rich!) But for what reason? Because I paired Undyne with Papyrus instead of Alphys. … Is the Earth still spinning? Yes? Okay, I thought so. Good, then I’ll continue.  
    First, allow me to address the homophobia issue. I would like to make it clear right off the bat that I am not homophobic. I just simply don’t like Undyne and Alphys as a pair. That’s literally it. The fact that my personal opinion on fictional characters is drawing real world accusations is quite unsettling, when you think about it. But, if you want to bring fictional characters into it…  
     Do I ship SwanQueen? Hell yeah. Do I ship Destiel? Well, duh, who doesn’t? Do I ship Gelphie? Dude, I was shipping Gelphie way before Gelphie was confirmed as real. Hell, a few years ago I started writing a novel in which the two leading ladies had a thing for each other. But do I ship Alphyne? Not in particular, no. Does that make me homophobic? Of course not. Using that logic, that’s like taking someone who likes bacon, but doesn’t like steak, and branding them as a vegan. Normally I’d say “don’t be ridiculous”, but it looks like it’s a bit too late for that.  
     Being heterosexual myself, I will admit that homosexuality is something that I don’t understand. But it is most certainly not something that I am afraid of, nor something that I encourage the world to reject. It’s unfair to assume so based on a fan fiction in which I switch a character’s sexuality. People do it all the time.  
     Now, moving on, I’d like to discuss the person / people who wrote the reviews. Look, I appreciate the good chuckle you gave me, but let’s take a moment to talk about the serious side of this.  
     I understand that you’re upset, and I understand that my interpretation of Undyne is arguable and unfavorable, but even so, your behavior is disgusting. Under no circumstances is it ever okay to tell someone to kill themselves. Especially when it’s over something as trivial as an uncommon interpretation of fictional characters.  
     You have **majorly** overreacted. Seriously, my friend(s), you need to realize how absurd you’re being. These are video game characters we’re talking about here, people. I can’t even believe that this is a discussion that has to be had. Yes, in this particular story (not even in all of the stories that I’ve been working on. JUST this one.), Undyne is heterosexual. Does that mean that the author is a raging homophobe who should be burned at the stake? You’re kidding me, right?  
     You’ve chosen to remain anonymous, which is normal for common trolls, but you’ve still managed to make yourself look bad. How so? Well, it’s like how when a group of Christians are jerks to the gay community, it makes all Christians look bad. It goes both ways. Let’s not pretend it doesn’t.  
     I feel a little bad for those of you who spend time furiously typing words that are intended to be harsh in the comment section of anything that you disagree with. You want to bring the real world into the world of fan fiction? Then here’s a real world tip for you: Not everyone is going to see things the way you do. Want a healthier way to deal with that other than ragging on someone’s work? Might I kindly suggest a different hobby to release your pent up and misplaced aggressions? I recommend knitting, or tennis.  
     For those of you who have asked, yes, I do in fact realize that Undyne is canonically a lesbian and is in an implied relationship with Alphys. I know that, and I accept that. I appreciate that, and I am most certainly not afraid of it. However, I have chosen to write this story differently. Isn’t that what fan fiction is about?  
     Alphyne is not my OTP, and I think that Papyrus and Undyne are cute together. That says absolutely nothing about my real world views. After all, this is a fan FICTION. It’s only a simple change in perspective. Nothing to start a riot about, certainly. Those who blow this out of proportion are the ones being reflected upon negatively, not me.  
     I really do think you should lighten up about this. But if you can’t lighten up, I at least suggest that you should be fair and evenly spread the hate on over to other people with unusual interpretations, like those who ship Mettaton and Muffet. After all, Papyton is definitely a thing, right?  
     Although their relationship is not the focal point of the story, I will say this: Upcoming chapters will contain scenes in which Papyrus and Undyne go on dates, a scene in which he kisses her (for lack of a better word), and a scene in which she refers to herself as his girlfriend. That being said, if you want to jump ship now, feel free to do so. If you disagree with my interpretation of Undyne, and if it bothers you that much, feel free to avert your eyes.  
     Or, don’t. It’s a free internet. But just know: I’ve thoroughly explained myself and there’s no excuse for accusing me of homophobia or pushing anti-gay agenda. That’s just silly. If you choose to stick around, you’ve been warned of that. If you choose to keep reading, despite the notices, and still find yourself getting upset about this matter, despite the clarifications, then frankly, you’re only making yourself angry.  
     As an author, I appreciate and can handle constructive criticism. What I will not stand for, however, is ignorance. Normally I wouldn’t get heated enough to feel the need to defend myself, but the treatment of those in the LGBTQ community is actually a very important social and political issue, and I’d rather talk about my stance other than have some angry no-names spread the wrong message.  
     I wish happiness and equality upon everyone. Gays, straights, and all of those somewhere in between. Even you, angry no-names. Everyone deserves equality and happiness. No story of mine, or of anyone’s, nor any rendition of characters is going to change that. You all should know that. And if you didn’t, well, now you do.  
     Well, I think that about covers it. If you have any additional questions or concerns, let’s talk about it.  
     Have an excellent day, dear readers!


	4. The Actual Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this, we learn a small tidbit of Frisk's backstory!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, friends! 
> 
> I wanted to make a quick correction in regards to my Author's Note.
> 
> As I reread through the chapters I have already written (I have through chapter 15 completed as of now. That's... a lot.), I've noticed I've included little hints and mentions of a previous relationship between Undyne and Alphys.  
> That being said, their relationship has not been denied or excluded completely. THAT being said, Undyne would be perceived as bisexual, not heterosexual, although she is more interested in Papyrus than she is in Alphys at this point in time.  
> Now, I realize that this will still not ease the more restless minds, but I figured it was only fair to point out.  
> As always, thank you for reading!

  
     The next day, Frisk began work on her newest project, a monster owned and operated radio station. She started by jotting down a few loose ideas.

Monster operated/owned?    Call letters WBDR available?  
Show blocks: 4am-10am, 10am-4pm, 4pm-10pm, 10pm-4am  
Hosts: ??? ??? Mettaton ???  
Location: ???  
Gather potential advertisers    Contact Director of Communications  
Discuss funding, expenses    Broadcast range

     She sighed and leaned back in her chair. “This is a lot more work than I initially thought.” She looked at the office door, hoping for an interruption. After a few seconds, when no one knocked, she decided to take a break anyway.  
     She walked down the stairs and turned right into the kitchen. Toriel was in there, sorting through a basket of recipes.  
     “You weren’t up there for very long. Is that a good sign or a bad one?” she asked.  
     “Bad. I’m at a standstill,” Frisk responded. She opened the fridge and got out a bottle of water for each of them. “Turns out there are a lot more components to this than I thought.”  
     “Why don’t you go on a walk and clear your head,” Toriel suggested. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out. You always do.”  
     Frisk shifted the corners of her mouth to form something not quite a smile, but not quite a frown either. “Thanks, I’ll try.” She opened the bottle and took a drink of water.  
     “If you need anything from any of us, let us know. And don’t work too hard! There is no deadline for this, correct?”  
     Now Frisk’s expression broke into a smile. “Correct,” she confirmed. “That’s true. Perhaps I got a little too excited about all of this,” she admitted. “I think I’ll go take a walk.”  
     “Have fun and be safe, my child!” Toriel said as Frisk left to go elsewhere.  
     She made her way to the basement, where Alphys’ lab and Undyne’s home gym were located. She cautiously stepped through the lab door and peeked around the corner. Alphys was hunched over a table with a screwdriver in one hand.  
     “Hey,” Frisk said, trying her best not to alarm her.  
     Even so, Alphys jumped a little before turning around. “Oh! Hi, Frisk!”  
     “What are you up to?”  
     “Not much. Just making some slight adjustments to the toaster.”  
     “The… toaster?”  
     “Yeah, there’s no setting for how dark Sans likes his toast. So I figured I’d make one myself. Since, you know, he’s too lazy to simply toast his toast a second time.”  
     “Oh, gotcha,” Frisk said. “That’s nice of you.” She walked up and looked over Alphys’ shoulder, observing the inner mechanisms of the toaster.  
     “I should only have to raise the temperature capacity of the wires, then find a more heat tolerant or resistant metal to coat it with. Simple, really,” Alphys explained.  
     “And you know how to do all of that?” Frisk asked.  
     “Of course,” Alphys answered. “I do have a doctorate in science and robotics, after all.”  
     “Yeah, I knew that,” Frisk said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound demeaning. I just didn’t know your degree entailed the repair and renovation of household appliances.”  
     “Oh, it covers just about everything,” Alphys said. “No worries!”  
     Frisk nodded. “Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to go on a walk with me. I think I’m just going to go to the base of the mountains and back.”  
     “Normally I’d love to, but I was wanting to get this done before tomorrow morning, and it’ll take me a while to hunt for the right metal,” Alphys answered. “How about another time?”  
     “Sure, no problem!” Frisk replied. “I’ll leave you to your work, then.”  
     Her next stop was across the hall to Undyne’s home gym. She didn’t even have to open the door in order to hear the rock music blaring from the inside. Frisk thought for a moment. “Better not interrupt her…” she decided. A wise decision.  
     She sighed and went back upstairs to the ground floor. “Papyrus, you’re my last hope,” she mumbled to herself as she trotted up to the second story. She noticed that the door to the brothers’ room was closed. She was hesitant, but she knocked anyway. In a few seconds, Sans came to the door.  
     “Hey, kid. Thought you were working on your radio station,” he said in his perpetually aloof tone.  
     Frisk put a hand on the back of her head. “I was, but… it’s making my head spin. I was going to take a walk and wanted to know if Papyrus would come along.”  
     “Sure he will!” Sans turned around. “Hey bro, up for a walk with Frisk?” he called.  
     “Yes, okay!” Papyrus answered from seemingly nowhere. Frisk tried to peek inside the room without Sans noticing. “Be right there,” Papyrus said.  
     “He’ll be right there,” Sans said. He gave Frisk a polite wink and closed the door.  
     Frisk stood awkwardly in the hallway rocking back and forth on her heels for a few moments until Papyrus was ready. He finally opened the door and joined her in the hall.  
     “Sorry it took me so long to get ready. I couldn’t find my favorite red scarf, so I had to settle for my second favorite red scarf,” he explained.  
     Frisk could feel her face turning red with blush. She tried not to laugh, now remembering where Papyrus’ scarf was. “Couldn’t find it, huh?” she practically stammered. “Well, that one you’ve got on looks nice.”  
     “Thank you!” he beamed. “But do not try and woo me with kind words, dear Frisk. Do you remember what happened the first time we dated?”  
     Now Frisk let herself laugh. “Yeah, I do!” At one point, she did have feelings for Papyrus, but they were quickly pushed to the side when her focus switched to trying to escape the Underground alive. “Oh, my goodness,” she mumbled.  
     “Well, shall we go?” Papyrus asked, motioning for Frisk to be the first down the stairs.  
     The two trotted down the stairs, turned left into the living room, then went out the screen door and stepped onto the patio.  
     Frisk put her hands on her hips. “I can’t wait until it’s summertime and we can have cookouts out here again,” she said.  
     She remembered the previous summer, and all the fun everyone had in their own backyard. Asgore and Sans manned the grill, Toriel did the rest of the cooking, Alphys set up the badminton net, then they all watched as Papyrus and Frisk desperately tried to beat Undyne in a 2-on-1 game.  
     “Yes, those were fun, weren’t they?” Papyrus agreed.  
     “Summer has to be my favorite season,” Frisk commented.  
     “Are you sure it’s not ‘ _FALL_ ’?” Papyrus said, grinning widely and pointing at her with both pointer fingers.  
     Frisk laughed. “Maybe leave the puns to Sans from now on, okay?”  
     “Oh come on! That one was absolutely brilliant!” he argued.  
     “Let’s walk, goofball.” They only went a few steps, then Frisk discreetly looked over her shoulder at the house. She could clearly see the bright red scarf sitting plainly on the roof. She chuckled as they continued their walk.  
     A little ways in, a chill went up her spine and she shivered. She hadn’t bothered to put on a jacket. Her only layer was her trademark striped sweater.  
     “Chilly?” Papyrus asked.  
     “Eh, only a little,” she answered.  
     “I’ll run back to the house and get you a jacket.”  
     He began to turn towards the house, and Frisk’s eyes grew wide. “No!” she yelled, grabbing his arm and turning him back around. “I mean, uh… really, I’m fine, but thank you.”  
     “Oh, um, okay. If you’re sure,” he replied, confused. They kept walking. “If you get cold, you may borrow my scarf.”  
     “Thank you,” she said. “So… tell me all about Undyne,” she added smugly.  
     If Papyrus were capable of blushing, his entire face would have been beet red. Frisk could tell by the way his gait and demeanor changed.  
     “What do you mean? If I’m not mistaken, you already know her quite well. You two are besties, are you not?” he stammered.  
     “We are,” she answered. “But I want _you_ to tell me about her.”  
     “Okay…” Papyrus started. “Well, she is blue. But you knew that. Also, she has red hair. But you knew that, too.”  
     “Papyrus,” Frisk laughed. “Come on now.”  
     “What? You asked me to tell you about her! I am merely doing what it is that you asked of me,” he defended. “She is blue, she has red hair,” he continued. “And fins. Fins, too. You… you can’t miss them. They’re right there on her face.”  
     Frisk rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’ve seen the fins, Papyrus.”  
     “Let’s see. What else?”  
     “Yeah, what else, Papyrus?” she asked, as if she didn’t already know. Of course she did. Everyone knew that he liked her. Even though it had gone unsaid, everyone knew.  
     At this point in the walk, they had reached the base of the mountains and turned around to head back to the house.  
     “Are you cold yet? Do you want my scarf? Here, let me tie it around your mouth,” he said, untying his scarf.  
     “What? No!” Frisk said. But Papyrus was resilient. He began chasing her around, holding the scarf out at arms length. “Stop it!” She laughed, running around in circles to avoid him. She took off towards the house.  
     “Get back here, you walking questionnaire!” Papyrus shouted playfully. But as they got closer to the house, he slowed down. He eventually stopped. “What is that?”  
     Frisk stopped running and walked back over to him to catch her breath. “What is what?” She turned around to look at whatever it was that he was talking about.  
     “There, on the roof. Is that… my scarf?”  
     “Your scarf? On the roof? That’s… silly.”  
     “That’s my scarf on the roof!” he yelled, taking off running. “Alphys!”  
     “Papyrus, hold on a minute!” Frisk yelled following him.  
     By the time they got back to the patio, Papyrus was completely winded. He hunched over with his hands on his knees.  
     “You okay?” Frisk asked him.  
     “I’m okay,” he huffed. “I just… don’t have lungs.”  
     She patted him on the back. “Don’t worry. Alphys can get your scarf down.” She passed him and opened the screen door, then turned around. “Oh, and, your secret’s safe with me,” she winked.  
     “Secret?” he said to himself. “Frisk, wait!” He stumbled inside after her, tripping over the screen door track. He face planted into the living room.  
     “Papyrus, stop messing around,” Asgore scolded, not even looking up from the newspaper. Frisk laughed.  
     Papyrus sighed. “Yes sir,” he mumbled as he stood up and dusted himself off.  
     “Oh, and please close the door,” Asgore added. “It’s chilly out there.”

~~~

     Later that evening, everyone gathered around the dinner table. Asgore at the head of the table, a spot for Toriel at the other end, and the others scattered in between. Toriel came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with a cover on it.  
     “Now while you were all off doing things today, I scrounged around until I found the ingredients to try out a new recipe!” she said excitedly. “So here we are,” she added, placing the tray in the center of the table. She took the cover off. “Something called… a casserole!”  
     Steam rose from the dish. Everyone scooted up a little in their seat and looked expectantly at the tray. Sitting on top was a casserole dish overflowing with gooey cheese, fresh broccoli, rice, and cubes of grilled chicken. Papyrus’ jaw nearly unhinged from the rest of his face.  
     “Toriel, this looks…” Alphys started.  
     “Amazing!” Undyne blurted.  
     “Yes, honey, this looks great!” Asgore agreed.  
     Toriel blushed. “Thank you, everyone. Wouldn’t you know it, there are all sorts of things like this in those books in the kitchen! And the instructions are entirely in there as well. It almost couldn’t have been any easier!”  
     “Almost?” Frisk said.  
     “Yeah, if it were any easier, it would be something that Papyrus could do,” Sans said.  
     “Hey now! That is completely accurate!” Papyrus said. “I bet Undyne could cook it, though.”  
     She let out a laugh. “Maybe.”  
     “Dear, would you like to do the honors?” Toriel asked, walking across the room and handing a giant spoon to Asgore.  
     “The Big Spoon, wow, this really is a special occasion,” Sans said.  
     “You bet it is! I don’t have to cook, that’s always a special occasion,” Papyrus confirmed.  
     “Tell me about it…” Alphys said.  
     “All jokes aside, everyone, this is a special occasion. It’s rare when we get to try something new,” Asgore mentioned. “So let’s all enjoy this delicious meal!”  
     Alphys leaned over towards Undyne. “Was it just me, or was that a very anime-sounding thing for him to say?” she said. Undyne laughed and nodded in agreement.  
     Asgore dished out his portion then passed the dish to his left. It made it’s way around the table, eventually landing back where it had started.  
     “This is oozing with good protein, Undyne, you’ll love this,” Frisk observed. She took a bite, let the oddly familiar flavors sink in, then gave Toriel a big thumbs-up.  
     After a few silent moments while everyone enjoyed their first bites of dinner, conversation picked back up.  
     “How’s work on the radio station idea coming, Frisk?” Alphys asked.  
     Frisk gave a disappointing facial expression. “Not as well as I hoped,” she answered. “All the farther I got was making a list of all the things I need to do before I even get down to business.” She took a bite of globbed up cheese. “I kinda pushed it off and went walking with Papyrus.”  
     “Was it a nice walk?” Toriel asked.  
     “Yes, very!” Papyrus said. “Which reminds me, Alphys. What is my favorite red scarf doing on the roof?”  
     Her and Asgore’s faces turned red. “Your scarf is on the roof? That’s strange…” she replied. Asgore chuckled and Toriel shot him a glare.  
     “Please return his scarf, you two,” she said.  
     “Yes ma’am,” Alphys answered. “I’ll start up the drone after dinner.”  
     Papyrus’ face lit up. “The drone? May I fly it?”  
     “Right after I do,” Asgore said.  
     “Neither of you are flying it before I do,” Alphys said, setting things straight. “I need to make sure the claw is attached properly and everything is in working order first.”  
     “I bet if we had that drone on our team we could beat Undyne at badminton,” Frisk said.  
     “Ha! You wish!” Undyne retorted.  
     “Oh! That reminds me of a great, unappreciated pun that I thought of earlier,” Papyrus started. He retold the conversation between him and Frisk about summertime, and the family cookouts. “So then I said ‘are you sure it’s not _fall_?’” He paused, waiting for someone to laugh.  
     “I don’t get it,” Sans said.  
     “What? Come on now. Fall? Because Frisk fell into the Underground?” Papyrus explained.  
     The group let out a collective groan of understanding.  
     “Speaking of which,” Undyne started, “how did that happen anyway? I’ve always kind of wondered.”  
     “How did what happen?” Frisk asked. “The fall?”  
     “Yeah.”  
     “Oh, well, I guess it’s kind of a long story.”  
     “Is it a story you wish to share? It’s something you haven’t told even me,” Toriel said, a twinge of concern in her voice.  
     “Yeah, I guess so,” Frisk said. She took a deep breath, then exhaled. “I wasn’t very happy at home,” she began. “It was just my parents and I, but still. For some reason, I was just perpetually unhappy. So when I was just sixteen, I packed up everything I had to my own name, and left.”  
     “You split when you were just sixteen?” Sans commented. “How old are you now?”  
     “Eighteen,” Frisk answered. “Anyway, I left in search of adventure. I sought out thrills, that’s how I decided where I’d go next. I’d make my way there, get myself an odd job like cleaning tables or alphabetizing important papers, so I could save up enough money to make it to the next place.  
     “I hiked trails, I went skydiving, zip lining, I jumped off of waterfalls and swam in rivers. I climbed huge trees, and other mountains, too. So when I caught word of Mt. Ebott, I decided I had to go. Climbers are said to disappear? It was calling my name.  
     “So after some extensive traveling, I finally made it. I stood at the base of the mountain, and I thought that it was all mine. I made it to a clearing, tripped over a root or something, and fell. The rest is history.”  
     For a few seconds, everyone was quiet. Still looking at Frisk, soaking up the story.  
     “That sounds like an awful lot for someone that age at the time to go through,” Asgore finally commented. “I am sorry for that.”  
     Frisk shrugged. “Honestly, it’s all okay. It’s worked out better than I ever could have imagined.”  
     “I would have to agree with you, my child,” Toriel said.  
     “To Frisk falling into the Underground!” Undyne said, lifting her glass of water.  
     “To Frisk falling into the Underground!” everyone repeated, raising their glasses. They all took a big gulp.

~~~

     That evening, after dinner was cleaned up, most of the gang went off to do their own thing. Alphys went back to the lab, Toriel went to her study to read a book, Asgore plopped down into his chair, and Frisk, Undyne and Papyrus were also in the living room watching TV. Undyne and Papyrus at opposite ends of one of the couches, and Frisk in a chair beside Undyne’s side of the couch.  
     Sans walked downstairs and turned into the living room. Out of all of the available places left to sit in the living room, he chose the space between Undyne and Papyrus.  
     “Hey guys. Mind if I sit here?” he said.  
     “No Sans… not at all,” Papyrus said in an unusually monotone voice.  
     “Great,” Sans smiled, making himself comfortable. “When are you and Alphys going to fly the drone? That’s something I’ve gotta see.”  
     “As soon as she gets up here, I suppose,” Papyrus said, tapping his foot impatiently.  
     As if on cue, Alphys came up from the basement and walked into the living room, drone in one hand, toaster in the other.  
     “Hey, there she is,” Sans said, turning his head towards her. “What’s with the toaster?”  
     “Oh! I, uh, made a few minor modifications,” she said, a slight blush coming to her face. “I made it so that the temperature can rise more, and the bread can toast longer. So you can make your toast extra dark now. I mean, since, um, I know that’s how you like your toast,” she went on.  
     “That was cool of you. Thanks,” Sans said. He stood up and walked over to her. “Here, I’ll take it to the kitchen. Go give that drone a test drive so my brother can fly it before it gets dark outside.”  
     “Right!” Alphys said, practically shoving the toaster into Sans’ hands. “Asgore, Papyrus, you guys coming or what?” Asgore all but jumped out of his chair.  
     “Yeah, give me a minute,” Papyrus called after them. He stood up and brushed some dust off of his gloves. “Do you want to come watch me fly a drone?” he asked Undyne.  
     “Something tells me I’m safer indoors,” she answered, but with a polite smile.  
     Papyrus nodded and exited through the screen door. Frisk and Undyne could still see the goings on from where they were sitting. From out of seemingly nowhere, Sans had joined Alphys, Papyrus and Asgore outside.  
     Frisk was giving Undyne a goofy smile, but she was too focused on watching Papyrus anxiously eye the drone that she didn’t notice. After some time, Frisk nudged her in the arm.  
     “What?” Undyne said, finally looking back at Frisk. “Don’t look at me like that,” she said without missing a beat.  
     There was a commotion outside, so they shifted their attention back to the screen door. Alphys had handed the control to Papyrus, and he was having a slight issue. Eventually, he steadied the drone, and ended up retrieving his scarf. He swung it around his neck victoriously, and relayed the control to Asgore. About ten minutes later, they came back inside.  
     Papyrus walked in with a little extra swagger. “Got my scarf back,” he said with a smirk. He strutted around as if he were on a catwalk, purposefully taking ridiculously big steps, and stopping to pose. Frisk and Undyne were cracking up. As a Grand Finale of sorts, he gently tossed the scarf to Undyne.  
     “You know, I don’t think I’d mind giving the drone a fly next time,” Sans said. “If that’s okay with you, I mean,” he added, lightly elbowing Alphys.  
     “Sure! Of course!” she answered. “Next time for sure.”  
     “Is there any butterscotch pie?” Asgore asked, making his way to the kitchen. Sans and Papyrus followed, and Alphys went back to the basement to return the drone.  
     Undyne chuckled and wrapped the scarf around her neck, then happened to glance over at Frisk again, who had put on the same cheesy grin from moments before.  
     “I told you not to look at me like that,” she growled.  
     “Alright, fine” Frisk said smartly. She turned her attention back to the TV, but she still wore an all-knowing smirk.


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus and Undyne run some errands for Toriel.

     Frisk woke up late the next morning. She felt groggy and sluggish, and didn’t want to get out of bed. Even so, she managed to drag herself downstairs, still in her pajamas.   
     She walked into the kitchen and got out of a cupboard the mug that Sans had gotten her for her birthday. It was black, and in white letters it read “I’m a monster in the mornings”. She opened the fridge and got out the carton of chocolate milk. She filled her mug, then heard someone clomping up the steps from the basement. Undyne entered moments later.  
     “Morning, sleepy head,” she said, wiping her neck with a towel.  
     Frisk nodded at her. “You just work out?” she asked. Undyne nodded back. “Want some chocolate milk?” Frisk continued.  
     “I’d love some, thanks,” Undyne answered. She watched as Frisk got another mug from the same cupboard. This one was light blue and had some sort of inspirational phrase on it. “You’re up later than normal today. Everything okay?” she asked.  
     Frisk poured some chocolate milk into the other mug then shuffled over to hand it to Undyne. “Yeah, as far as I know. I think I just needed a good sleep. My thoughts have been moving a mile a minute about this increasingly stupid radio station.”  
     “It’s not stupid,” Undyne said, taking the mug from Frisk. “You just tried to dive in shallow water, that’s all. Just give yourself some time.” She took a couple big gulps of milk. “If I were you, I’d hold off on anything until you hear back from the Governor of Rhode Island. One project at a time, you know?”  
     “That’s not a bad idea,” Frisk said. “Honestly I kind of forgot about that,” she admitted. “Thanks.” Undyne nodded in response. “Finish your milk and go get cleaned up. I’ll fix you some peanut butter and banana toast.”  
     Undyne chugged the rest of her milk. “Gee, Mom, quit telling me what to do,” she said, but she laughed. “Be down soon.”  
     About half an hour later, Undyne returned to the kitchen. Frisk had her toast set at a small table by the window, along with a small glass of orange juice. Frisk was sitting on the counter holding her mug, which now had freshly made coffee inside.  
     “Thanks again,” Undyne said, taking a seat. Just then, Toriel walked in.   
     “I smelled the coffee,” she smiled. “I was wondering who would have made it if I didn’t,” she commented. “Frisk, please don’t sit on the countertops.”  
     “Yes ma’am,” Frisk said, hopping down. “Can I get you some coffee?”  
     “Yes, please. Are the boys and Alphys not awake yet?”  
     “I saw Alphys in her lab when I left the gym. I haven’t seen the guys yet today,” Undyne said. She took a bite of the toast. “But knowing them, I’d say Sans is definitely still sleeping.”  
     “I’d bet on it,” Frisk laughed, handing Toriel a cup of coffee. Her mug was bright pink and read ‘Cool Mom’. “Hey Undyne, I was thinking. Sometime we should wake up super early and go hike the mountain.”  
     “Sounds good,” she agreed. “We can even pack a lunch, too. Make a day out of it.”  
     “Yeah!” Frisk exclaimed with a burst of energy she didn’t know she had. It surprised even Toriel. “Oh man, that’s going to be so fun.”  
     “Oh, will one of you girls remind me to ask Papyrus to go to the grocery store later? We just need to stock up on some basics,” Toriel said.   
     Undyne gave a salute then knocked back her orange juice as if it were a shot. “Will do.”  
     “You should go with him,” Frisk suggested. “Maybe you two can find some ingredients so you can cook something up,” she added with a wink. Undyne snarled. “What? I’m totally talking about food,” Frisk laughed.  
     “Undyne, that would be nice,” Toriel agreed. “You two can find something new to fix for us!”  
     “Okay, fine,” Undyne conceded. “But I’m not going anywhere near the seafood counter.” Frisk and Toriel laughed.  
     “Normally I would go along,” Toriel said. “But today I have a bit of laundry and knitting to do, and I’d like to finish my book,” she explained.  
     “Not a problem. Papyrus and I are on the case,” Undyne said. She got up to throw her napkin away and put the glass in the sink. “What are you going to get into today, squirt?” she asked, looking down at Frisk.  
     “Probably not much of anything,” she answered. “Maybe I’ll see if Alphys needs any help. Or if Dad wants to do some karaoke.”  
     Toriel furrowed her brow. “That is one of the strangest things I have ever heard,” she said. “My husband, King of the Underground, participating in a Class B sing-a-long.”   
     Undyne laughed. “You’d be surprised at some of the things he does when you two and Papyrus are at the school.”  
     Toriel put her coffee down on the counter and crossed her arms. “Oh, really?” A small smile came to her face. “Like what?”   
     “Karaoke, wearing mismatched socks, styling his beard in weird ways, playing the air guitar with the broom while he sweeps the living room-”  
     “Wait, he swept the living room?” Toriel said. “Sans told me that _he_ did that.”  
     “And you believed him?” Frisk chuckled. Toriel shrugged and picked her coffee back up. “When are we going back to the school, anyway?” Frisk asked.  
     “Late next week,” Toriel answered.  
     While Toriel did open the school, a large building holding grades K-12, and made the majority of decisions regarding it, she had no obligation to constantly be there. Which was nice, considering that the gang lived at least a good 15 miles from solid civilization.   
     Every once in a while, Papyrus would drive her and Frisk to the school so Toriel could check up on things and Frisk could sit in on some high school classes. When not at the school, and when Frisk wasn’t busy with her Ambassador duties, Toriel would often hold lessons for her at the house.   
     “Got it,” Frisk said. She usually didn’t mind going to school. She even made a couple acquaintances, which was good for her. A little taste of what life might have been like. A small break from the house in the mountains, if only just for a few hours.  
     “I’m going to go put real clothes on,” Frisk stated. As she left the kitchen, Papyrus entered, and they swapped greetings as they passed each other.  
     “Good morning, ladies,” he said.   
     Undyne waved at him. “Coffee?” she asked.  
     “No, thanks,” he answered. “I came in because I was told I needed to test out the toaster.”  
     Toriel furrowed her brow. “The… toaster?”  
     “Yeah, Alphys fixed up so it can make toast super dark now,” Undyne explained.  
     “Even though Sans is the only one who even likes his toast like that,” Papyrus scoffed. “I will give it a go, though.” He got a loaf of bread out of the bread box and plopped a couple slices into the toaster, turning it to the highest setting.  
     “You and I are going grocery shopping today,” Undyne told him.   
     He tensed slightly. “We are?”  
     “Yes, I would like for you to pick up some essentials, along with any other ingredients that you two think might look nice!” Toriel said. “And if it’s not too much to ask, Papyrus, could you be a dear and let Undyne drive? She needs to practice her driving.”  
     “Yeah, Papyrus. Be a dear and let me drive,” Undyne grinned.   
     “What?” Papyrus shouted. He looked around the room as he thought of something to say. His gaze met Undyne’s, then quickly shifted to Toriel. “Alright, fine. She can drive,” he conceded, slumping his shoulders.  
     Undyne pumped her fist victoriously. “Yes! I won’t crash, I promise,” she said.  
     “Great,” Papyrus said, clearly unnerved. His toast popped up from the toaster, along with a plume of smoke. The smoke detector in the kitchen sounded off, triggering the rest of the alarms on the ground floor. Papyrus coughed and waved a hand in front of his face. “Alphys!”

~~~

     Later in the morning, after the smoke had cleared and the smell in the kitchen returned to normal, Papyrus and Undyne readied themselves to make the trip to the grocery store. They would have to travel to Harrisburg, a town much smaller than Cheyenne, but larger than Albin, the town that they were technically closest to.   
     They walked through the living room, where Frisk and Sans were sitting on the couch. Frisk was reading, and Sans was staring blankly at the TV.  
     “Okay, we’re off,” Papyrus said. “Do you want anything in particular from the store?”  
     “Apples? Peanut butter?” Frisk suggested.  
     “Toriel already has those on the list,” Undyne said, waving around a piece of notebook paper with some scribbles on it. “Pass me the keys,” she smirked, holding out her hand.  
     Papyrus sighed and tossed the keys underhand in the air. Undyne caught them confidently.   
     “Please be careful, you two,” Frisk said, setting her book down.  
     “You bet!” Undyne said, walking confidently in the direction of the garage.  
     “Frisk, if I don’t come back, I bequeath to you my collection of scarves,” Papyrus declared.  
     “Relax, bro, you’ll be fine,” Sans said. “Now go get ‘em, tiger.”  
     “Get what? The groceries?” Papyrus asked. Frisk couldn’t tell if he was pretending to be ignorant or not.   
     “Hey! You coming?” Undyne shouted from a couple rooms away.  
     “Yes, dear,” Frisk yelled back.  
     “Uh, please disregard Frisk,” Papyrus called out. “I will be right there.” He shot Frisk a very nonthreatening glare. “Behave,” he said. Then he left.  
     “What a pair,” Sans said, cracking a smile.  
     “Oh yeah,” Frisk agreed, returning to her book.

~~~

     “How am I doing?” Undyne asked after they had been on the road for a little while.  
     Papyrus was gripping the seat of the car about as tightly as he could. “Fine. You’re… doing great.”  
     Undyne looked over at him. “If I’m doing great then why are you holding on to the seat for dear life?” she asked.   
     “Eye on the road!” he yelled.  
     “Right,” she mumbled, snapping back to attention. The rest of the ride was spent in silence.   
     Once they had arrived at the store, Undyne parked way in the back of the parking lot, a good 6 spaces from the next nearest car. She was nonchalant as she got out of the car.  
     “What did you do that for?” Papyrus asked.  
     “Do what?”  
     “Park as far away as possible! There are probably plenty of spaces up there,” he said, pointing towards the front of the lot.  
     Undyne shrugged. “A little bit of a walk never hurt anybody,” she said. “It would sure do you some good,” she joked, making her way to the store.  
     “Good point, I have been trying to watch my figure,” he responded, placing his hands on his imaginary belly. “Do these bones make me look fat?”  
     “Huge!” she laughed. “Hustle, I’m chilly.”  
     “Are we going to need a cart?” Papyrus asked once they had gotten inside.  
     Undyne glanced at the list that Toriel had sent with them. “Looks like it.” She grabbed the nearest cart and wheeled it towards Papyrus.   
     “Thank you, oh Keeper of the List,” he said, adding a small bow at the end.  
     “You are very welcome, oh Keeper of the Cart,” she replied with a smile. “I’m not about to curtsy though, sorry,” she said.  
     Papyrus shrugged it off. “Where to first?”

~~~

     Back at the house, things were quiet. Sans was content, but things were too quiet for Frisk. She soon tired of sitting on the couch and got up in search for something to do. She walked outside to see what Asgore was up to.  
     It was mid fall, and temperatures were slowly declining day by day. There were no flowers to be planted this time of year, but Asgore still tended diligently to the flower beds, keeping them tidy and ready for spring. He was pushing some loose dirt around with a shovel and whistling a song when Frisk turned the corner.  
     “Hiya!” she said.  
     “Frisk! Aren’t you cold?” he asked, noticing that she was wearing only jeans and a striped sweater.  
     “Nope, aren’t you?” she retorted. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a short sleeved shirt.  
     “Not at all. But I credit my fur for that,” he chuckled. “What brings you out?” he added, getting a cloth out of his back pocket and wiping his hands off.  
     Frisk shrugged. “Just looking for something to do.”   
     “Well if you want, you can help me out with these,” he suggested. “I’m just going around to all of the flower beds and breaking up the soil so that it doesn’t get too packed together,” he explained. “There should be a couple more shovels in the shed if you want to join me.”  
     “Sure!” Frisk beamed. It seemed to her that she didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time with Asgore. When she wasn’t working, she was either hanging out with Undyne, helping Toriel with something, or pestering Alphys. She usually left the men of the house to do their own things, except the occasional walk or board game with Papyrus.  
     She rounded another corner of the house and dug around in the shed until she found a shovel. She held it up victoriously and went back to where Asgore was working.  
     “I haven’t gotten to that one yet, if you’re looking for a place to start,” he said, using the shovel the point at the next section of flower bed.  
     She saluted. “Got it!” She pierced the ground with the shovel. It wasn’t as solid as she expected. She was pleasantly surprised. She scooped some dirt out and threw it to the side.

~~~

     Papyrus and Undyne were having a good time at the grocery store. They made fun of funny sounding brand names and goofy looking labels, they took turns running down the aisles pushing the cart, and were probably being a general annoyance to the other patrons. But they themselves didn’t mind, of course. Their next stop was the cereal aisle.  
     They had already been laughing about the lady they saw in the next aisle over, who had unusually colored hair and an interesting pair of floral print pants on, but it continued when Papyrus began dancing to the song that came on over the intercom.  
     He took steps in time with the music and swung his hips with the rhythm while pushing the cart. Undyne almost had tears coming out of her eye she was laughing so hard.  
     “No, wait, wait, you have to do the actual shopping cart dance,” she said. In addition to what he had been doing, Papyrus started picking random things off of the shelves and throwing them in the cart, still in rhythm. “That’s it!” she laughed.  
     They reached the end of the aisle, and Papyrus stopped. “Now what?” he asked.  
     Undyne looked at the collection of cereal boxes in the cart, then at the list, then back at the cart. “Now we have to go put all of this stuff back because none of it is on the list.”  
     Papyrus shot Undyne a glare, but then the two of them broke into laughter again.   
     As they stood there, a young man and his mother walked by. Undyne shuffled to the side a bit to avoid being in their way. When she looked up at them, she found that the boy was giving her and Papyrus the nastiest look. She furrowed her brow as she gazed back at him. He looked angry. He looked hateful. The whole time they walked by, the boy glared at them, turning his head until the point where they had moved on.  
     “That was… strange,” Papyrus said.  
     “What was his problem?” Undyne scoffed, crossing her arms. “Did he look… familiar to you?”  
     Papyrus thought for a moment. “No, why?”  
     Undyne squinted, focusing in the direction that the young man had gone. “I don’t know. No reason.”

~~~

     Frisk and Asgore made their way inside after tending to the flower beds. They checked their dirty shoes at the door, and headed for the kitchen, where Frisk poured them each a tall glass of iced golden flower tea.  
     “You know, that was fun,” Frisk smiled.  
     “Really? Well I’m glad you think so,” Asgore said. “You’re in for a treat in the spring and summer, then! There will be lots to do!”  
     “Looking forward to it!”  
     The two of them stood in the kitchen for quite some time, sipping their tea and chatting about a little bit of everything. Frisk’s Ambassador work, the headlines in the newspaper, what TV movies were on that evening. After some time, Frisk took the last gulp of her tea and set the empty glass in the sink.  
     “I’m going to go get cleaned up,” she said. On her way out of the kitchen, she stopped next to Asgore, stood up on her tippy toes, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.   
     Soon after, Papyrus and Undyne pulled into the garage, finally home from their excursion to the grocery store. Undyne drove back to the house as well, and was able to get them home safely. This time around, Papyrus wasn’t clutching the seat for dear life, but rather, engaging in conversation and trying to make some puns.  
     Undyne parked the car and took they key out of the ignition. “Safe and sound!” she grinned. “That was fun,” she added.  
     “It really was! Who knew we could have that good of a time simply doing Toriel’s shopping!” Papyrus agreed. He paused, then turned sideways in his seat to face Undyne.   
     She unbuckled her seatbelt. “Right? We should volunteer to go next time, too.”  
     “Hey, Undyne.”  
     She looked in his direction, then, out of the corner of her eye, to the left and right. She furrowed her brow. They were the only two around. Why did he address her like that?   
     “Yeah?” she replied.  
     “You’ve never been to the city, have you?”  
     “Well, I’ve been to _a_ city. Just not Cheyenne.” She paused. “Why do you ask?”  
     “Would you… want to… go sometime? With me?”  
     “Go? To Cheyenne? With you?” she repeated, slightly taken back.  
     “Yeah, I mean, I was thinking… I had such a good time today, I thought maybe we could hang out again sometime. Just us. We could go to the city, walk around, drink some tea…”  
     “I’d love to,” she smiled.  
     His expression brightened. “Really?”  
     “Yes, really,” she chuckled.  
     “Great,” he said, exhaling a breath that he must have been holding for the entire conversation.   
     “On one condition,” she smirked.  
     If Papyrus had skin, all the color would have drained from it. “Condition? Okay… what condition?”  
     “You be a gentleman and hold the door for me while I carry in all these bags of groceries,” she said, trying to muster up some charm.  
     Papyrus looked at the backseat, which was stacked to the brim with plastic grocery bags. “There’s no way you’re carrying all of those inside by yourself.”  
     “Watch me,” she smirked again.  
     Sure enough, she managed to loop every bag onto her arms. Although she looked pretty ridiculous, they wouldn’t have to make a second trip to the car. She did, however, make quite the commotion when entering the kitchen. The plastic bags were rustling loudly, and she was struggling to be as agile as usual.   
     Toriel, who was in the living room knitting, heard all the noise and made her way to the kitchen.  
     “Undyne! What are you doing?” she asked when she saw Undyne struggling with the bags.  
     “Just… carrying in the groceries,” she answered with some difficulty.   
     “Here, dear, let me help you,” she said, rushing over to her. She took a few bags off of Undyne’s arms. “Where is Papyrus?”  
     “He should be right behind me,” Undyne grunted as she set the remainder of the bags down on the floor. A few seconds later he joined the two in the kitchen.  
     “Papyrus, why did you make Undyne carry all of those packages inside?” Toriel scolded.  
     Papyrus’ jaw dropped, as if he were a little kid who just got tattled on. “But she-”  
     “Undyne, go relax on the couch. Papyrus and I will put all of these away.”  
     “Yes ma’am,” Undyne grinned. She waved at Papyrus mischievously before doing what she was told.  
     Toriel and Papyrus knelt down to pick the bags up off of the floor. They were quiet for a few moments, until Papyrus decided to break the silence and defend himself.  
     “Toriel, she told me that she would get all of the bags by herself.”  
     “Alright, but that doesn’t mean you let her. That’s not how you treat a lady,” Toriel told him, although her tone was gentle.  
     “Understood,” he said. “But anyway… let us know next time you need groceries and we’ll go again. Her and I actually had a good time.”  
     Toriel smiled. “Only you two could turn a chore into an adventure.”  
     Papyrus chuckled. “I asked Undyne if she wanted to go to the city with me sometime, too, and she said sure,” he told Toriel without thinking.  
     Toriel beamed and clapped her hands together. “Oh, how wonderful!” she said. “When is this?”  
     “I… don’t know. We agreed on it, and then that was kind of the end of the conversation.”  
     “Well that is just great. I know that you’ve liked her for quite some time now.”  
     “Yeah, I- wait. You knew? But I didn’t… so who… but how..?” he stuttered.  
     Toriel giggled. “One piece of advice that I will give you now is that us girls can figure out just about anything.”  
     “Noted,” Papyrus said.   
     In the living room, Undyne plopped down on the couch next to Frisk. She put her feet up on the table and picked up a gardening magazine from the end table.   
     Frisk looked at Undyne, then down at her boots, then back up at her. “You know you’re not supposed to do that, right?”  
     Undyne, not even looking up from the magazine, stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry. She rapidly flipped through a few pages before settling on an article to read.   
     Frisk scoffed. “Alright then.” She waited until a commercial came on the TV to speak again. “So how was grocery shopping?”  
     Undyne couldn’t help but smile. “A lot of fun,” she answered.   
     “Did you remember to get apples and peanut butter?”  
     “Aw, damn it,” Undyne said, throwing down the magazine. She let Frisk believe her for a couple seconds. “Just kidding,” she grinned. “They’re in the kitchen.”  
     “Frisk,” Toriel called from the kitchen, even though she was already headed for the living room. “Here is your shampoo. Do with it what you will.”  
     Frisk stood up and walked over to collect the bottle. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll go put in in the bathroom.” She started up the stairs.  
     “Undyne! Feet off of the table, please,” she heard Toriel say.  
     “Yes ma’am,” Undyne replied.  
     Frisk giggled and continued the climb. She made her way down the hall and turned into the bathroom across the hall from her room, the one that her, Undyne and Alphys all shared. She looked around for a place to put the shampoo bottle, then she looked at the bottle itself. There was a strand of Toriel’s fur on it. She gently brushed it away.  
     ‘ _That reminds me… I haven’t heard from Asriel in a couple days,_ ’ she thought to herself. ‘ _Maybe… I wonder what would happen if I tried reaching out to him instead._ ’  
     She closed her eyes and focused as hard as she could. She tuned out everything around her, and welcomed the calm that was falling over her. She let her mind open, as if there was some kind of gate to pass through.  
     ‘ _Asriel,_ ’ she called out within her mind.  
     But nobody came.  
     “Frisk?”  
     Frisk was so startled by the voice that the shampoo bottle went flying out of her hands, landing in the bathtub with a loud thud. She turned around and saw Alphys standing in the doorway.  
     “Alphys! Hi… you scared me,” she said, placing a hand on her own chest.  
     “Is everything okay? I don’t know many people who zone out in the bathroom.”  
     “Oh, yeah, of course,” Frisk said. “I’m fine.”  
     “Okay, good. Then can I use the restroom now?”  
     “Yeah! Yes, sure. I’m sorry,” Frisk stammered awkwardly, almost as if her and Alphys had switched places in terms of personality. She picked the bottle up from the bottom of the tub and propped it up on a small shelf. She squeezed past Alphys and into the hallway. “There you go, heh heh. Sorry… about that.”  
     “Sure. It’s okay,” Alphys said, closing the door.  
     Frisk put her hands on her head and walked into her room. “Okay, so that didn’t work. Guess I’ll just have to wait on him,” she said out loud to herself. She fell down onto her bed and sighed. “Guess I’ll just have to wait.”


	6. Chapter 5

  
     An uneventful few days had passed by in the house. Frisk still hadn’t heard from the Governor of Rhode Island, Papyrus and Undyne hadn’t gone to the city yet, and Alphys still had work to do on the toaster.   
     It was early in the evening, and the gang all had seats in the living room. They were watching another made-for-TV movie, something that was becoming a bit of a tradition.  
     “Frisk, Papyrus, do not forget that we are going to the school tomorrow,” Toriel reminded them. “We will have to wake up early, so please be mindful of that.”   
     “Oh, right, I almost forgot!” Frisk said. “I should probably go get my stuff together,” she added, getting up from the recliner she had been curled up in.  
     “Wait, don’t you want to see what happens next?” Alphys said, motioning towards the television.  
     “I guess, but…” She looked at the clock on the wall. “The movie will be over way too late. I should probably skip it if I want to sleep tonight.” She headed for the stairs. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”  
     In order to try and reduce clutter, Frisk kept all of her school supplies in her office. She stopped in there first to make sure everything for tomorrow was ready to go. Her math book was sitting on the windowsill, and the novel that she had been reading was on her desk. She gathered the books and placed them in her backpack along with the rest of her things. She also took a pen, a couple pencils and a pack of loose leaf paper from her desk drawer for good measure.   
     She took the backpack into her room with her, and set it down by the door, where she would be sure to remember it in the morning. She walked over to her closet and opened up the door.  
     “Hmm… what to wear, what to wear?” she said to herself. She closely examined her wardrobe, trying to remember what she wore the last time she went to school. She didn’t want to wear the same thing.  
     “How about… these jeans,” she thought out loud. “Oh, and this sweater!” She pulled out of the closet a grey sweater with scarlet, horizontal stripes. “And these boots to go with it,” she added, taking a pair of fuzzy, grey boots, which went to about halfway up her shins.  
     “Nice, but it looks kind of plain. I wonder if I could dress it up somehow.” She thought for a moment, then closed the closet door. “I wonder if Papyrus would let me borrow one of his scarves.”  
     Frisk decided to get cleaned up and wash her hair so she would have less to do in order to get ready in the morning. As Sans always told her, every extra second of sleep counts!  
     After a while, she trotted downstairs to rejoin the others, and took her seat again.  
     “All ready to go?” Sans asked.  
     “I think so, except I was going to ask Papyrus if I could borrow one of his red scarves.”  
     “Sure you can!” Papyrus answered. “You may borrow my third favorite red scarf, if you want. My first favorite red scarf needs washed, and I will wear my second favorite.”  
     “That would be great, thank you!” Frisk told him.  
     “This movie took a turn for the worse,” Undyne said. “You might want to check out soon, save yourself.”  
     “Oh, come on now. It’s not that bad,” Asgore argued.  
     “Perhaps Undyne has a point though, Frisk. You may want to sleep soon,” Toriel advised. “I am heading that way right now.” She got up from the couch, and made it a point to go kiss Asgore on the top of the head before going upstairs. “Goodnight, all,” she said.  
     “Goodnight, Mom,” Frisk replied. Everyone else chimed in as well.  
     “I’ll give this movie until the next commercial break, and if it doesn’t improve, I vote we change the channel,” Alphys said.  
     Asgore hugged the remote control tightly. “There will be no changing of channels!”  
     Sans chuckled. “I agree. Let’s keep it on. Cheesy movies like this just help us appreciate the good ones.”  
     “Exactly,” Asgore nodded.  
     “I’ll give it until the next commercial break, then I’m going to bed,” Frisk said.  
     “I might as well, too. I have to get up just as early as you and Toriel,” Papyrus stated. “Which… I am not looking forward to.”  
     “My poor brother has to wake up at a normal hour. So sad,” Sans said.  
     “This coming from the guy who only wakes up before eleven once in a great while,” Papyrus retorted.  
     Sans shrugged. “You’re not wrong.”  
     “Hey, I can’t even hear the movie!” Undyne said. “Which I suppose is probably a good thing.”  
     Between all the commotion, a commercial did eventually come on. It was a commercial for another movie. This one didn’t look half bad.  
     “Well, that’s my cue. Goodnight, guys,” Frisk said, hopping out of the chair and taking the stairs two at a time.  
     She crept down the hall rather quietly, careful not to disturb Toriel, even though her and Asgore’s room was all the way at the end of the hall. She turned into her room and shut the door softly. She had already been in her pajamas, so she hopped in bed right away and pulled her collection of blankets up to her chin.  
     She sighed as she squirmed around trying to get comfortable. To her surprise, as soon as she shut her eyes, she was instantly an unusual level of tired. She was fast asleep in a matter of seconds.  
     Frisk opened her eyes a few minutes later, and everything was still dark. She looked to the side, and couldn’t even see the glow of her alarm clock. Startled, she jumped up. She discovered that there were no blankets on her. She wasn’t laying on her bed. There was nothing around.  
     “What is…” She thought for a moment. “Oh! Wait… Asriel?”  
     “Hey!” he called. As usual, his voice was around before the rest of him was. But in a matter of seconds, he was visible. “Frisk, it’s good to see you.”  
     She smiled when she saw him. “It’s good to see you, too,” she agreed.   
     “It has been a while. I apologize for that.”  
     “It’s alright,” Frisk answered. “Although, the other day I actually tried calling you instead,” she said, sheepishly putting a hand behind her head.  
     Asriel cocked his head to the side. “Really? I’m sorry I didn’t answer. I had to save energy,” he explained. “However, it was much easier to reach you this time. You weren’t fighting me,” he added.  
     “Fighting you?”  
     “You know, trying to stay awake, fighting off the sleep, things like that. It took a great deal of my energy just to compel you to fall asleep. Then I hardly had enough left to speak.”  
     “Oh… I didn’t realize that,” Frisk said apologetically. “Well, you caught me at a good time this time. How did you know I was just laying down to go to sleep?”  
     “Whenever I channel you, I can see your immediate surroundings. That’s how I know it’s you that I have reached. I do so when I can.”  
     “How do you do that?”  
     “Well, I gather all of my extra energy together, go into a sort of meditative state, and focus on you. Once I find you, that’s when I start using up my energy. I have to tap into your mind, then get your attention. Then, well, here we are,” he elaborated.  
     “But how? I mean, you died… your soul, it… I thought you didn’t have… I don’t understand,” Frisk said, trying to dance around something that she figured was a touchy subject.  
     “It’s kind of hard to explain… but let me do my best.” Asriel took a deep breath. “You remember how Flowey was created, right? My essence plus Dr. Alphys’ determination serum? Well, that determination was so powerful, that it was actually able to replace my soul, to a certain extent. That’s how I exist as Flowey. I function using the determination, rather than with a soul.”  
     “So… you don’t need a soul because the determination is so potent?” Frisk asked, making sure she was following Asriel as he went.  
     “Correct. That’s also why when I did have all of those souls inside of me, I once again retained my true form, this one. That’s why I gained so much incredible power. I was capable of doing everything, and then some. I had every soul in the Underground, along with the dose of determination.”  
     “I see…” Frisk mumbled. It did make sense, after all. She of all people knew how strong determination could be in its natural state. She could only imagine how strong it could be when concentrated, like Alphys had managed to do.  
     She hadn’t had the chance to notice this the first couple times they had spoken like this, but he was handsome in this state. Well groomed, pure white fur, a strong jaw line. His voice was deeper. Not as deep as Asgore’s or Sans’, but it had definitely changed from when the two last parted ways, when Asriel appeared young. His voice was now velvety, smooth, comforting.  
     “So if you’re operating strictly off of determination power, how is it that you’re showing up as Asriel instead of Flowey?” she inquired. “How is it that you look and sound… like this?”  
     “Because this is who I really am,” he smiled. “Simply put, that is. Flowey is my current physical form. But I am not here physically. So this is how I am choosing to project myself.”  
     Frisk took a couple steps towards him. She cautiously reached out and tried to grab his hand, but her hand phased right through him. Startled, she quickly recoiled her arm.  
     “Careful,” he laughed. “I’m not exactly tangible.”  
     His laugh left her speechless for a few moments.  
     “Anyway,” he continued. “About why I’m here…” He cleared his throat. “There is a group of monsters who stayed behind in the Underground.”  
     “I figured,” she said. “I mean, I kind of thought that not everyone would want to leave.”  
     “They stayed behind… because they’re plotting an attack against the humans.”  
     “Wait, what?” Frisk exclaimed. “An… attack?”  
     “I’m afraid so…” Asriel confirmed, lowering his head a bit. “I often patrol around the Underground, mainly because I don’t really have anything better to do. But one day I was making my way through Snowdin, and I noticed a commotion in the building that used to be Grillby’s. The place was almost full of monsters.  
     “They were all talking amongst themselves, then a big guy got up in front of all of them and called some kind of meeting to order. He began talking strategy. Others chimed in with ideas about what kind of weapons to use, or if they should use their magic, things like that.”  
     “Wow…” Frisk sighed. “I mean, I know that most monsters don’t think very highly of humans, but I was kind of under the impression that freedom would solve the problem.”  
     “Not so, it seems,” Asriel said, shaking his head. “I contacted you to ask for your help in stopping the attack.”  
     “Stopping the attack? But… how?”  
     “I… don’t know. I don’t exactly have a plan yet, but I did decide that trying to recruit you should be my first order of business. Then, I figured we could put our heads together.”  
     Frisk examined the sturdy horns curling out of Asriel’s head. They looked rock solid, and rather sharp. “Okay, but I’ll have to put a hard hat on first,” she joked, trying to lighten the mood.   
     Asriel didn’t understand. He scratched the top of his head. “A… hard hat? What purpose will that serve?”  
     “Uh, never mind,” Frisk said.   
     “So… will you help me?” Asriel asked her, sincerity evident in his tone.  
     “Of course I will,” she answered. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m just not sure how.”  
     Asriel looked down at her with a reassuring smile. His eyes were a very light shade of blue. They reminded Frisk of the sky on a pleasant Spring morning.  
     “We will figure something out, Frisk. I knew I couldn’t do it on my own, that’s why I sought out your help. I know we can resolve this together.”  
     She stared back up at him. A nervous smile spread across her face. She thought for a second that she might be attracted to him, but she quickly dismissed the thought when she realized that, technically speaking, her and Asriel were brother and sister.  
     His expression changed. “Someone is coming,” he warned.  
     “What?”  
     “I can sense someone else drawing near…” he said. His eyes widened. “Mom…”  
     “Mom? Toriel? What’s she doing?”  
     “She’s probably here to wake you. I should get going. I will talk to you again soon.”  
     “Hey, wait a minute,” she protested. As Asriel faded from view, she could faintly hear a rhythmic beeping noise. As it went on, it kept getting louder and louder. Until…  
     “Frisk? Frisk! Wake up!”  
     “Hnuh?” she grunted.  
     The beeping noise had ceased. Frisk rubbed her eyes and looked around. Toriel was standing at her bedside.  
     “Your alarm had been going off for over 5 minutes. Didn’t it wake you?”  
     “No, I… didn’t even hear it,” Frisk mumbled.  
     “I’ve prepared some tea for you, you may drink it in the car on the way to school, if you’d like. But it is time to get up and get ready,” Toriel said.  
     Frisk hopped out of bed. “I should only be a few minutes. I’ll meet you and Papyrus downstairs.”  
     Frisk washed her face, changed into the outfit she had picked out, and brushed her teeth and hair as fast as she could. She ran across the hall to her room, sprayed some perfume on and grabbed her backpack and cell phone, and left as fast as she entered.   
     She sped down the stairs, and turned right into the kitchen. When she saw that Toriel and Papyrus weren’t there, she grabbed her to-go cup of tea off of the counter and made her way to the garage, where she assumed that they were.  
     Frisk was right. They were already in the car. The car was running, and Papyrus was messing with the radio. When Toriel noticed Frisk coming, she smiled and waved.  
     “Sorry, you two, I pulled myself together as fast as I could,” Frisk said, throwing her things in the backseat before getting in herself.  
     “Not a problem, my sweet child. You are in plenty of time,” Toriel answered. “Buckle up for safety!”  
     “Here is a scarf,” Papyrus said, reaching back and handing Frisk a bright red scarf. “Please return it in as good condition as it is in now!”  
     “Thank you!” Frisk said, folding it here and there then laying it loosely around her neck.   
     “And we’re off!” Papyrus said, shifting the car into reverse. He backed up far enough to where the car wasn’t in the garage anymore. He stopped and pressed a button to close the garage door.   
     Frisk looked around. It was still dark outside. She didn’t even want to know what time it was, it would only prompt her to be groggy and tired. Instead, she took a sip of her tea, hoping it would help keep her awake. Somehow, it was cold. Expecting it to be nice and warm, she couldn’t help but make a small noise of surprise.  
     Toriel noticed. “What is wrong, Frisk?” she asked.  
     “Uh… uh…” Frisk started. Toriel had made the tea for her, she didn’t want to insult her by saying something was wrong with it. “It’s… just a little bit cold, that’s all,” she said softly.  
     “Oh, okay, here.” Toriel reached around and held her hand out. “Hold the cup close to the top, and hold it right above my hand. Do not set it down,” she instructed. Frisk did as she was told.  
     Toriel concentrated, and her eyes began to glow a soft orange. A small flame appeared in her hand. She left it there for a few moments, before allowing the flame to dissipate. Her eyes returned to normal as well.   
     “There, try it now!” she said proudly.  
     Frisk’s eyes were wide. “Th- thanks,” she replied.   
     Frisk knew that Toriel had powers, of course. She knew that they all did. After all, at one point or another, she had fought with almost everyone in the house. She knew what they were capable of.   
     But nowadays, they didn’t use their magic very frequently. Hardly ever, actually. So when they did, it came as a bit of a surprise to Frisk, as well as a bit of a scare. But no one blamed her for being slightly traumatized by all that she experienced while weaving her way through the Underground.  
     “Perfect!” Frisk confirmed after taking a sip of the tea.   
     The rest of the car ride was quiet, except for the hum of the engine and the faint sound of whatever song was playing on the radio. Toriel had fallen back asleep, and Frisk was flipping through her math book to review the last lesson that Toriel had gone over with her. Papyrus diligently kept his eyes on the road.  
     As they arrived, there were a few more cars pulling into the parking lot as well, mostly teachers and other administrators. The students wouldn’t start to arrive for about another half hour or so.  
     Frisk got out of the car and swung her backpack over her shoulder. She stared up at the looming, 3 story building. The ground floor held elementary school classes, the second floor held middle school classes, and the top floor, the high school. This was the only school in which human children and monster children were both allowed to attend.  
     Frisk finished off her tea, and waited for the others to join her outside.  
     Papyrus got out and instinctively slammed the car door behind him, while Toriel closed it gently. The three of them headed inside.   
     The school was quiet, and still smelled like lemon scented cleaner. The hallway by the main entrance was decorated with colorful poster-board garnished with glitter and messy handwriting.   
     Toriel led the way to her office. They had to pass through a couple more offices, along with a copy room and the teacher’s lounge in order to get there. They appeared to be among the first in the building, seeing as how these rooms were still devoid of teachers and principals.   
     Toriel dug around in her small purse and got out a ring of keys. She flipped through them and picked one out, using it to unlock her office door. She pushed the door open and the three of them entered. It looked exactly how she had left it the last time she was here, neat and tidy.  
     “Papyrus, what will you do today?” she asked him.   
     “I’m not sure,” he answered. Is there anything you need assistance with? Sorting papers? Making decisions? Firing people? Ruling the school with an iron fist?”  
     “Ambitious, aren’t we?” Toriel laughed. She looked around her office. “It doesn’t seem that I have many papers to sort through.” She thought for a moment. “I know you already have an education beyond what this school offers, but you are welcome to go along to Frisk’s classes with her today.”  
     There was a knock on the door, even though it was open, and a short woman wearing a grey power suit shuffled in.   
     “Good morning, Mrs. Dreemurr,” she said. “Frisk, Papyrus,” she acknowledged as well.   
     “Ah, yes, good morning, Mrs. Jacobs,” Toriel greeted her with a smile. She then turned to Frisk. “I had called a couple of days ago to see which of the high school classes had tests today, so that you could avoid them since you haven’t been here in a while,” she explained.  
     “This is the schedule that your mom and I worked out for you for today,” Mrs. Jacobs said, handing Frisk a piece of paper.  
     “Oh, thanks!” she replied, taking the paper.  
     “Not a problem! Have a good day, all,” Mrs. Jacobs said, making her way out of the room. But only a few seconds later, she poked her head back in. “I almost forgot! There will be a short meeting in room 302 at 2 o’clock, Mrs. Dreemurr.”  
     “Thank you,” Toriel told her.   
     Papyrus looked over Frisk’s shoulder at her schedule.   
     “Physics, Government, Gym, Study Hall, Lunch, Sociology, Statistics and Advanced Literature,” Frisk read out loud. “Can you handle that?” she asked.  
     “Can I ever!” Papyrus replied. “I, the Great Papyrus, excel at activities involving both the brains and the brawn!”  
     Frisk laughed. “Alright, hotshot. Let’s see how you handle Physics because it is clearly not my forte.”  
     A few minutes later, the first busload of students began filtering in to the school, heading to their respective floors of the building.  
     Toriel looked out her office door, although she could hardly see the hallway from where she stood. “Before you two go, here,” she said, rummaging through her purse again. She retrieved three $5 bills, handing one to Frisk, and two to Papyrus. “Some lunch money. If you’d be so kind as to get something for me, too.”  
     “Of course!” Papyrus said. “Anything in particular?”  
     Toriel looked at the school calendar pinned to a cork board on the wall, which had the lunch menus for each day printed on it. The calendar, however, was from last month, when she was last at the school. “Oh, whatever looks good, I suppose,” she said. “You are welcome to stay in here and eat lunch with me, if you’d like!”  
     “Sounds great! Thanks, Mom,” Frisk said. “See you then!”  
     “Have a good day!” she called as Frisk and Papyrus left her office and weaved their way through the rest of the offices.  
     They eventually made it to the hallway, and Frisk set her backpack down on a nearby bench. Everything she needed for school was inside. It was heavy, and a nuisance to lug around all day, but she didn’t need a locker. She was hardly there, anyway.  
     She got out her Physics book and the notebook that accompanied it. She also got a pencil out and rested it behind her ear.  
     “Do you want me to carry something for you?” Papyrus offered.  
     “No, but thank you,” Frisk said, swinging the backpack over one shoulder. The sudden shift in weight cause her to stumble a bit, but she just as soon regained her balance. “I think I’ve got it.”  
     “Yo! Frisk! Papyrus!”  
     The two of them turned around and saw Monster Kid charging towards them. He skidded to a stop.  
     “Hey, buddy!” Frisk smiled. “It’s been a while.”  
     “Long time no see,” Papyrus added, patting Monster Kid on the head.  
     “Yeah, it’s been, like, forever!” he said. “I miss seeing you guys around here. It makes me feel cool when I talk to big kids. How’s Undyne?”  
     “She’s wonderful,” Papyrus answered.  
     Frisk smiled at him then turned back to Monster Kid. “She’s doing well, thanks for asking.”  
     “Cool! Yo, tell her that I said hi and that she’s still my hero!”  
     “Absolutely,” Frisk told him. “Would you like for us to walk you to your first class?”  
     Monster Kid’s eyes lit up. “Yo, would you? For real? That’d be too cool.” Before the others even said anything, Monster Kid had taken off in the opposite direction.  
     Frisk and Papyrus weaved their way through students of all ages trying to catch up to Monster Kid. Once the crowd had thinned, they walked on either side of him.  
     “Where are you off to first?” Frisk asked him.  
     “English class,” he said. “I have a pretty big spelling test today. What about you?”  
     “Physics,” she countered.  
     “Yikes,” said Monster Kid. “Good luck with that.”  
     “Good luck with your spelling test,” Papyrus said.  
     “Thanks, guys,” Monster Kid replied. “Well, here’s my homeroom. See ya!”  
     “Have a good one,” Frisk smiled, waving at him as he scurried into the room. Her and Papyrus waited until Monster Kid was in his seat until they themselves headed to class.  
     “Are you sure you want to travel up two flights of stairs with that huge backpack on?” Papyrus checked.  
     “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she said, hiking the pack up a little higher onto her shoulders. They made it up the first staircase to the middle school floor. The gymnasium was also on this floor, and the classrooms were side by side along the edge of the room.  
     “How’d you sleep last night?” he asked as they tackled the second flight of stairs. He moved out of the way so a squirrelly middle schooler could zoom back to the correct floor.  
     “A little too well,” she laughed. “My alarm didn’t wake me up. Mom had to.”  
     “Oh, really? Dreaming too sweetly?”  
     She immediately tensed. She hadn’t told anyone about her run-ins with Asriel yet, and for some reason, she hadn’t been planning to. But if things escalated any further she would have to. For now, she would let it be.  
     “Yeah,” she chuckled, as if Papyrus had been joking. They reached the top floor, and Frisk looked at the schedule that Mrs. Jacobs handed her. “Physics. Room 311. Right down the hall. Ready?”  
     Papyrus nodded confidently, and followed Frisk down the hallway and into the room.  
     She looked around once they had turned the corner into the room. The room was dotted with students sitting here and there. Mostly monsters, but none that either of them recognized. “There are two seats beside each other,” she said, pointing to the back left corner. They took their seats.  
     “Wowie,” Papyrus said, observing his surroundings. “I’ve never felt more like Alphys in my life.”  
     “Ha! Just wait until class actually starts.”   
     Moments later, the tardy bell rang, and the teacher came out from behind her desk and stood in front of the class. She smoothed out her lab coat and picked up a clipboard from a small table.  
     “Good morning, everyone. Let’s see who’s here today.”   
     Frisk opened her notebook and flipped to the last page she had written on, then turned the page so she would have a fresh piece of paper to write on. Instead of a blank page, she saw ‘BIG NERD’ written in Undyne’s handwriting along with a smiley face.   
     ‘My sister,’ she chuckled to herself, rolling her eyes and turning the page again.  
     “Alright, we have a good attendance today,” the teacher said. “Now, let’s begin. Please open your textbooks to page 53.”  
     Papyrus scooted his desk over so he could share books with Frisk. She opened her book to the correct page, then looked up at him. She smiled when she saw how noticeably excited he was to participate.   
     ‘And my goofy brother,’ she thought.


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk and Papyrus' day at school.

     The bell rang, and the class gathered up their things and filtered out of the room.  
     “Next stop, Government, room 308,” Frisk said. “Learning anything so far?”  
     “Yeah! I learned how to properly spell ‘Physics’!” Papyrus said.   
     Frisk laughed. “So far, so good!” They turned into the next room, and were some of the first students there. “Pick a seat, any seat,” she said in some sort of funny voice.  
     Papyrus didn’t notice. “Second row, middle of the room!” he said, taking his seat right away.  
     “Just like when we go to the movies, huh?” Frisk laughed. She sat down at the desk beside him and set her backpack on the desk, swapping her Physics book and notebook out for her Government supplies. She looked at the chalkboard to find out which page in the book to turn to.  
     “What will we be learning here?” Papyrus asked.  
     Frisk went to the assigned page and took a quick look. “Looks like we’ll be going over some groundbreaking court cases,” she answered. She thought for a moment. “You know what, Papyrus? Government… the way things in this country are operated… I want to be a part of that.”  
     “Well, I mean, aren’t you already? Technically speaking, that is. Being the Ambassador, and all.”  
     “I guess you’re right,” Frisk shrugged. “Maybe what I should have said is that I want to _change_ it.”  
     “Change it?”  
     “Yeah. I mean, the government is set in place to revolve around humans because the government has served humans and humans alone for years and years,” she explained. “But humans aren’t the only inhabitants anymore, and things need to change. I’d like to change it. Or help, at least.”  
     “I think you can,” Papyrus said. “I really do. And I think you’ve got a great start, too, with all the work you’ve been doing.” He paused for a few moments. “So… thank you, Frisk. For doing what you do for us.”  
     She smiled. She was going to say something, but the bell rang and cut her off. She turned around, and noticed that the classroom was almost full. She hadn’t noticed the other students come in. She gave Papyrus a quick nod before class began.

~~~

     Another ring of the bell dismissed class, and the students all left to go in their separate directions.  
     “Gym’s up next. You ready for this?” Frisk said.  
     Papyrus cracked his knuckles. “Been waiting all morning for this,” he said confidently.   
     The two of them made their way to the middle floor and joined the rest of the people who had gathered in the center of the gymnasium floor. Frisk looked around for a place to put her backpack, then eventually walked over to the nearest wall and let it fall to the floor, propping it up against the wall.   
     As the bell rang, a short, stocky man in shorts, a polo shirt and a baseball cap blew a whistle as loud as he could. It caught everyone’s attention.  
     “Alright, listen up, soldiers!” he yelled. “Dodgeball day.” He quickly counted everyone. “Two teams of twelve. Team up, I’ll get the missiles.”  
     “We’ve gotta be on the same team,” Frisk said, clenching her fists. “Quick, get on this side.”  
     She gently tugged Papyrus by the arm and led him to one side of the gym, which was divided directly in half by a blue line painted right in the center of the floor.   
     Through the mess of scrambling students trying to pick a team, none other than Bratty and Catty made their way to where Frisk and Papyrus were standing.  
     “Like, no way! Frisk!” Bratty said.  
     “Frisk? No way!” Catty mimicked.   
     “Hey, you two!” Frisk greeted them. As thoroughly annoying as Bratty and Catty were, Frisk always enjoyed seeing the friends she had made in the Underground.  
     “What’s up, girl? Good to see you!” Bratty said.   
     “Always good seeing you guys,” she said. “Hang out near any good dumpsters lately?”  
     “Have we ever!” Catty squealed. “The one out back behind the school is amazing!”  
     “You wouldn’t believe all of the juicy notes we find back there,” Bratty added, putting her hands over her mouth.  
     “Oh yeah?” Frisk asked, actually kind of intrigued.  
     “Yeah!” Bratty and Catty replied in unison.  
     “Guess who Amy Histo has a crush on this week,” Catty teased.  
     “Brady Grant!” Bratty yelled before Frisk could even respond. The two of them giggled as they jumped up and down.  
     Out of the corner of her eye, Frisk looked over at Papyrus, who looked nothing short of embarrassed just by being in the general vicinity of those two. She chuckled.  
     “I’m sure they will be very happy together,” she said.   
     Just then, another loud whistle blew, and everyone instinctively got in single file lines on the team’s respective sides of the gym floor. The gym teacher set about a dozen bright red dodgeballs down the center line.  
     “On my whistle, the first round begins. Ready?” He paused for a moment, perhaps for dramatic effect, then blew the whistle.   
     The more ambitious members of each team darted to the line to retrieve as many of the makeshift weapons as they could. Frisk, Papyrus, Bratty and Catty were among those who stayed a safe distance away from the strike zone. But after the initial chaos, Papyrus joined the game.  
     “So, Frisk,” Bratty started.  
     “Like, who’s your friend?” Catty added.  
     “Who? You mean Papyrus?”  
     “Is that his name? He’s so cute,” Bratty said, drawing the word ‘so’ out for a good five seconds.  
     Frisk turned her attention to the game, and watched as Papyrus frantically scrambled around, trying not to get hit by anything. She let out a laugh, then looked back at Bratty and Catty, who’s expressions did not change.  
     “Wait, you’re being serious?”  
     “Duh!” Catty said. “He’s totes adorbs. You know, in a dorky and awkward sort of way.”  
     “Well don’t let Undyne hear you say that,” Frisk advised.  
     “You mean big scary fish lady?” Bratty said. Her and Catty both cringed. “They’re a thing?”  
     Frisk smirked and shrugged.   
     “I thought her and Alphys were a thing,” Catty said, scratching her head.  
     Frisk’s smile faded, and she shrugged again.  
     “Oh my gosh, Frisk, don’t even mess with us like that!” Bratty laughed.  
     Out of nowhere, a dodgeball came rocketing back to where they were standing. Frisk dove out of the way, but Catty got nailed right in the arm.  
     “You’re out!” the teacher yelled.  
     “If Catty’s out then I’m out, too!” Bratty declared. She picked up the ball that had hit Catty and threw it at herself. The pair walked off of the floor together. Frisk waved goodbye before joining the game.

~~~

     After a few rounds, the teacher ended the game and let everyone cool down before class was technically over. Frisk jogged over to the wall where she had set her backpack, and waited for Papyrus to join her.   
     “Boy, that was something,” he said once he got there.  
     “You should have seen yourself out there, Papyrus!” she marveled, hiking her backpack onto her shoulders. “You were as agile as a fox, as slippery as a snail! I don’t think you got hit even once.”  
     He smiled. “Well, after all, I am pretty great.” He looked off into the distance as if he were posing for a movie poster. “Where to next?”  
     “Study Hall,” Frisk answered. “Back upstairs to Room 302.”  
     “My goodness. This whole ‘school’ thing is quite a work out,” he commented.   
     They made their way to Room 302, which appeared to normally be inhabited by a science class. There were goggles and beakers everywhere, and instead of desks, there were tables long enough to accommodate two students each. Papyrus and Frisk sat down at a table by a window.  
     “Bratty and Catty think you’re cute,” she informed him.  
     “Oh…” he said flatly. “Isn’t that… special.”  
     Frisk threw her head back with laughter. “Yeah, special, that’s the word.”  
     “Well they will have to just keep dreaming, because as far as I’m concerned, I’m spoken for,” Papyrus said rather proudly.  
     Frisk smiled. “You’re a good guy, you know that?”  
     Papyrus shrugged. “I’m alright, I guess.” The tardy bell rang. “So what are the rules of Study Hall?”  
     “Well, to study, I suppose. This is basically a free period to work on homework or study some notes or catch up on sleep or something.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “We have to keep the noise to a minimum, though.”   
     Papyrus nodded, then helped himself to dig through Frisk’s backpack. He got out her Statistics book and placed it on the desktop. He opened it to a completely random page and blindly pointed to a passage. He pushed the book over to Frisk’s side of the desk.  
     She gave him a thumbs up and started reading.   
     For some reason, she could hardly comprehend math. She still did well, she still had a passing grade, mostly thanks to Toriel’s help, but it wasn’t her strongest subject. Whenever she attended the school in person she would always study up on her math a little bit extra.  
     After what had to have been at least 35 minutes, she looked up from her book and stretched. Out of the corner of her eye she could tell that Papyrus had elected to take a small nap.   
      _‘Sans would be proud,’_ she thought to herself.   
     The dismissal bell rang, giving Papyrus a rather rude awakening. He looked around the room, then stood up and stretched.  
     “What did I miss?” he asked groggily.  
     “Nothing,” Frisk replied. “Except now I have a complete understanding of how numbers directly relate to the world around us.” She flung her backpack over her right shoulder. “Lunch time! Better hurry and get to the cafeteria so we can get Mom something good for lunch.”  
     The cafeteria was located back on the first floor. By the time Papyrus and Frisk had arrived, the elementary school children had already had their lunch and were headed back to their classes. The middle schoolers were seated at their designated tables, and some high schoolers were already in line.  
     “Let’s go before the line gets any longer,” Frisk suggested.   
     As they waited in line in an overcrowded little hallway outside of the kitchen, Papyrus looked at a menu that was taped to the wall.   
     “It says that today they are serving vegetable fried rice, cheese pizza, or something called a la carte,” he read. “What is an a la carte?”  
     “It means they have other loose options to choose from. Like some apple slices or a bag of chips or something,” Frisk explained.  
     By this time they were at the front of the line. The pressure to choose something for lunch was too much for Papyrus, so he switched places in line with Frisk.  
     She grabbed a tray, observed the selections, then elected to grab a prepackaged peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a bag of apple slices, and a bottle of water. She looked back at Papyrus.  
     “What are you getting?”  
     “That pizza looks better and better the more I stare at it,” he said. “What should we get for Toriel?”  
     Frisk thought for a moment. “Get her the rice. I think she’d like that.”  
     Papyrus nodded. He grabbed a tray, a bottle of water for Toriel and a small carton of chocolate milk for himself. He politely asked the lunch lady for the lunches that he and Frisk picked out.   
     Before exiting the line, they handed a cashier the $15 that Toriel had given them. She quickly added everything up on a small cash register and handed Papyrus back the change.  
     Instead of heading back into the hectic cafeteria, they made their way to Toriel’s office. On their way, they had condensed their lunches so that they could be carried on two trays instead of three. They passed through the collection of offices that led to Toriel’s, greeting principals and school nurses as they went.  
     The door to her office was closed, but Papyrus knocked without hesitation.  
     “Room service!” he called.   
     They could hear her chuckle from the other side of the door. A few seconds later she opened the door and let them in, smiling warmly.  
      _‘Asriel has the same smile,’_ Frisk thought. She took a quick moment to observe Toriel’s smile as closely as she could. Toriel was happy to see them, even though it had only been a few hours. She had so much love to give. So much light.   
     “Come in, you two. How is your day?” she asked.   
     “Great! You should have seen Papyrus playing dodgeball earlier,” Frisk raved. She walked over to Toriel’s desk and set one of the bottles of water down. “We brought you some veggie fried rice for lunch.”  
     “Thank you.” Toriel took the plate of rice off of the tray that Papyrus was carrying and took it to her desk. She sat down and motioned for the others to do the same.   
     There were two office chairs sitting in front of her desk. Frisk and Papyrus each selected one.   
     “And your academic classes?” Toriel inquired.  
     “Eh, they were okay,” Frisk shrugged. “Government is already a breeze, and I think I’m getting a little better at Physics. There’s homework, though.”  
     “How can you have homework if you won’t be coming back for who knows how long?” Papyrus asked. He handed Toriel her change.  
     “I’ll make sure she gets it done,” Toriel said sternly, although she wore a smile.   
     “I looked through my Stats book during study hall to brush up on things last minute. I think I can at least get through the class without having a mental breakdown,” Frisk said.  
     “Oh, come on now,” Toriel laughed. “You’re exaggerating, my child. You are very intelligent, and will pass the class with flying colors!”  
     “The class with flying colors? I didn’t see Art on the schedule,” Papyrus grinned. He waited for one of them to laugh.  
     Frisk let out a small snort. “Not bad, not bad,” she said.   
     “Thank you,” he said proudly. “So, Toriel, spill. What’s your 2 o’clock meeting about? I’ve been wondering all day.”  
     “I’m not sure,” Toriel answered in between bites of her lunch. “No one told me. They just told me to be there.”  
     “Yikes.” Frisk took a bite of her sandwich. “Do you think it’s something bad?”  
     “I certainly hope not,” Toriel said. “Frisk, honey, please don’t talk with your mouth full.”  
     Frisk, still with food in her mouth, gave Toriel an apologetic look, to which she nodded in return.   
     “Shortly after you two left this morning, Mrs. Danes came in and handed me a paper with a list of things that need to be addressed around here. I’ve been reviewing it and trying to decide how to handle things. Perhaps that’s what the meeting will be about,” Toriel thought out loud.  
     “Could be,” Papyrus said, brushing his hands together in order to get some crumbs off of his gloves. He had already finished his pizza.  
     “But you two shouldn’t worry much about it,” Toriel advised them. “Focus on your studies for now and I will fill you in later,” she smiled.   
     The three of them finished their lunches and generally enjoyed each other’s company until the bell rang. When it did so, Frisk slumped over slightly and gave a small grunt of disappointment.   
     She retrieved her Sociology binder from her backpack, then hoisted the pack up onto her shoulder. She stood up, then carefully leaned over to pick up her empty tray without the backpack falling off.  
     “I’ll take care of the trays, go ahead and get to class on time,” Toriel told her. She gathered up the trays and the trash and walked to the door to hold it open for Frisk and Papyrus.  
     Frisk looked at the clock on the wall on her way out. 12:50. “Thanks, Mom. See you in a couple of hours!”  
     The duo made it to class just in time. They walked in just as the tardy bell was ringing. They couldn’t find seats right next to each other, so they settled for being seated diagonally.  
     The Sociology teacher also happened to be the school’s Director of Student relations. She was a fan favorite among the students, and she did her best to make sure that the students had anything they needed to make their experience at school enjoyable.  
     “Ms. Dreemurr! Good to see you here today,” the teacher remarked when she saw Frisk amongst the crowd.  
     Practically every other student in the room shifted their attention to Frisk, since she had been addressed. A few human girls that she had gotten to know waved at her, and she sheepishly waved back. There were a couple of monsters in the class, too, although she didn’t know any of them personally. They seemed to recognize her, and they gave a friendly smile.  
     “Welcome, everyone, to class today,” she continued. “Let’s begin. Today we will be focusing on how the social behavior in a large city differs from that in a small town or rural area. Now…”  
     Frisk opened her binder, grabbed a mechanical pencil from her backpack, and quickly began taking notes. When the focus of the class was on people in cities, she couldn’t help but think of the young man that she encountered when she was mailing the letter. She remembered how friendly he was, along with how handsome. She decided that she wished she could see him again.  
     Her focus returned to class when one of the students sneezed and it snapped her out of being sidetracked. She shook her head and reexamined her notes.  
     After class, she swapped her Sociology binder for her Statistics textbook. She got up and walked out of the room, then stood in the hallway waiting for Papyrus.   
     “I’m surprised that the teachers are just kind of letting you sit in on all of these classes, no questions asked,” she laughed.   
     Papyrus shrugged. “They probably just assume I’m a student. No one has bothered to check otherwise.”  
     The way the school took attendance _was_ different to say the least. Since anyone was welcome to attend, students seemed to come and go, and it was a little uncommon to see the exact same group of people there all the time. So instead of having a list of students to check off, teachers wrote down who all had shown up.  
     The classroom they were headed for next was just a couple doors down. They were there in a matter of seconds. Frisk picked a desk, and Papyrus sat down beside her.  
     “Second to last class of the day,” she said. “And in my opinion, the hardest. If we can get through this, we’re golden.”  
     Papyrus reached over and offered her a high five. “We’ve got this!”  
     Class began, and the teacher greeted everyone very monotonously. He took attendance, then instructed the class to turn to a page in the book.  
     “Today I will be teaching you how to determine the odds of something happening. Riveting stuff,” he said. The way he carried himself and the way he sounded would lead someone to believe that he was perpetually sarcastic. But he was just… plain.  
     Frisk sighed and got out a few pieces of loose leaf paper to write notes on. The teacher had only spoken a few words so far and she already wanted the class to be over.   
     Eventually, after what seemed like a lifetime, the sweet, shrill sound of the school bell dismissed class. Frisk turned to Papyrus wearing a huge grin.  
     He smiled in return. “We’re golden,” he said.  
     “You know it!” She bookmarked the textbook with her loose notes, then put the book in her backpack. “Advanced Lit, then we’re home free.” She glanced at the clock before she left the room. “Time for Mom’s meeting, too.”  
     “Now, she told us not to worry about that,” Papyrus reminded her. “But I’m not worried, I’m curious!”  
     “Same here,” Frisk agreed. As they passed the library, Frisk glanced inside out of the corner of her eye, and saw Bratty and Catty both hunched down behind a book, probably snickering about some gossip that they either heard or started themselves.  
     “Walk a little faster,” she suggested, picking up the pace herself.   
     “Why? What’s back there?” Papyrus asked.  
     “Your girlfriends,” Frisk said, trying not to laugh as she said it.  
     Papyrus started power walking. “Keep moving, Frisk. Gotta get to class on time.”  
     Frisk threw her head back in laughter, then jogged to catch up to him.   
     They made it to class in plenty of time. The room, although it held an English class, was set up much like the room where they had study hall. Tables for two instead of desks.   
     Papyrus selected a table for them to use, and they both took their seats. Frisk ended up sitting next to the wall, where there was some sort of movie poster hanging. She tried not to bump into it in fear that it would fall off of the wall.  
     “Last time I was here, the class had just started reading this novel,” Frisk explained, pulling the book out of her backpack and handing it to Papyrus. “I’m probably a little behind on it, but it’s a good read.”  
     “Looks interesting enough,” Papyrus said, reading the back cover of the book.   
     “This teacher is my favorite, too. She’s awesome.” Frisk sat back in her seat. “What a great way to end the school day.”  
     “I wonder what everyone else has been up to,” Papyrus wondered out loud.  
     “Ha! I can’t wait to hear about their day. I’m sure someone got into some kind of mess.”  
     “Never a dull moment in that house, that’s for sure.”  
     The bell rang, and Frisk looked around the room. The teacher was nowhere to be found. A few of the other students started muttering to one another.  
     A few seconds later, the teacher all but burst in the door. She headed straight for her desk and picked up the attendance clipboard without looking.  
     “Good afternoon, class! Sorry I’m late, there was a computer issue on the middle school floor. Let’s get started here…” She looked around the room. “Frisk Dreemurr! What’s up? Good to see you, girl!”  
     Instead of shying away as she did in Sociology, she smiled and waved.  
     “Mrs. Jones! Good to be here,” she replied.  
     “Welcome, everyone,” Mrs. Jones continued. “Now that I’ve got a headcount, we can get down to business.” She returned the clipboard to her desk and picked up a stack of papers. “Pass these worksheets around the room, please.”  
     The papers made their rounds, and Frisk inspected it closely as soon as she got hers.  
     “Oh, good, I’ve already read these chapters,” she said only loud enough for Papyrus to hear. “This review sheet should be a breeze.”  
     “Today, class time will be spent catching up on reading and doing this worksheet. Whatever you don’t get done in class is homework,” Mrs. Jones explained. “Happy reading!”  
     “Here, you can use my book,” Frisk whispered, pushing the book over to Papyrus. “I should know most of these anyway.”  
     Papyrus flipped through the pages of the review sheet, seemingly intimidated. “Oh, uh, thanks,” he said.  
     Frisk swept her way through the review and actually completed most of it. She took a break, and checked the clock.  
     “The elementary students should be out of here by now. Which is good, because the sooner this place empties out, the sooner we can split, too,” she told Papyrus.  
     He had only read a portion of the required reading, but still attempted to answer the questions as he went. Frisk looked down at his paper and noticed that most of the answers were wrong.  
     The dismissal bell rang, and Papyrus slammed the novel down on the surface of the desk.   
     “Thank goodness,” he exhaled.  
     Frisk picked up the book and stuffed it, along with the review sheet, in her backpack. For the final time for the day, she lifted the pack onto her shoulders.  
     “Let’s go,” she said.  
     They maneuvered their way through the swarm of children, human and monster alike, frantically trying to exit through one insufficient set of double doors. They made it to Toriel’s office, only to find that she was locking things up.   
     “Great timing, you two!” she smiled.  
     By the time they made it back to the main hallway, it was practically devoid of students.  
     “We’ll just wait a few more minutes for the stragglers to clear out, then-”  
     Toriel was interrupted when a monster woman charged through the doors. She looked around a bit, then approached the three of them.  
     “Have you seen my son?” she asked frantically.  
     Frisk knew right off the bat that she was talking about Monster Kid. The woman had striking similarities to him, the primary one being that she had no arms.  
     “No, ma’am, I haven’t,” Toriel answered calmly, hoping to calm down the distraught mother.  
     “Oh, dear… he hasn’t come home,” she said. “He walks home from school, we don’t live very far away… he should have been home by now.” She began to pace back and forth. “My sweet little boy… I hope so much that he is okay.”  
     “We’ll help look,” Frisk said, when she noticed how upset the woman was. “Papyrus, you check the ground floor. I’ll make my way up the stairs.”   
     Papyrus nodded and took off down the hall.  
     Frisk ran up the stairs as if she were doing some sort of military drill. She arrived on the middle school floor of the building, and began looking around.   
     “He’s not on the gym floor,” she said. She ran around the perimeter of the floor, looking in all of the classrooms as she did so. “Monster Kid!” she yelled. “Hey, Monster Kid!”  
     When she was unsuccessful in her search, she tried the same on the third floor.  
     “Monster Kid!” As she ran by the library, she noticed him in there, trying to prop a book back up onto a shelf using his head. “Hey!” she called.  
     Startled, he fell backwards, and the book fell off of the shelf.  
     “Frisk! Uh, hey,” he answered.  
     She ran into the library to help him up. She also put the book back where it belonged.  
     “Your mother is downstairs worried sick about you. She said you were supposed to be home some time ago.”  
     “Oh, man! That’s right! Yo, I’m so sorry!”  
     “It’s okay,” Frisk said, breathing a sigh of relief. Her adrenaline was still active. “Let’s go, okay?”  
     Frisk brought him back downstairs, and when his mother saw him, she ran directly over to him.  
     “There you are,” she said, falling to her knees so that she could be eye level with him. “I was so worried…”  
     “I know, Mom. I’m sorry,” Monster Kid said, hanging his head slightly.  
     “It’s alright,” his mother said. “I know where you are and I know that you are safe, and it’s okay.”  
     Frisk happened to look up at Toriel, and found that she was looking back at her. Not so much directly at her, and not looking into her eyes, but more like looking at all of her at once. Toriel’s expression was solemn, with a twinge of… what was it? Heartache?  
     Confused and slightly concerned, Frisk looked away.  
     “Thank you for finding him,” the woman said.  
     “Not a problem,” Frisk smiled. “Stay out of trouble, okay, buddy?”  
     Monster Kid nodded, and him and his mother made their exit.  
     “That was kind of scary,” Papyrus commented. He looked around the room and noticed that no one was left in the building besides them. “Well, are we ready?”  
     Toriel nodded. “Yes, let’s go home.”


	8. Chapter 7

     The first chunk of the car ride home was spent in uncomfortable silence. There was an odd tension between Toriel and Frisk suddenly, but Papyrus was blissfully unaware. He kept trying to start conversation, but no one else was having it.  
     “I’m stopping in town to get the mail,” he said. “Do you want to pick up a pizza or something for dinner tonight?”  
     “I left a note for Undyne asking her to prepare dinner tonight,” Toriel answered.  
     “Okay… well… I’m still stopping to get the mail.”  
     “That’s fine.”  
     In a matter of minutes, the car rolled into the sleepy little town of Albin. Papyrus parked on the side of the road right across the street from the post office. As soon as he shut the car off, Frisk got out and jogged over to the building. She returned seconds later.  
     “Bills and magazines,” she said as she got back in the car. “Nothing from Rhode Island.” She passed the stack of mail up to Toriel so she could look through it.  
     “Sorry, kiddo,” Papyrus said. “Well, homeward bound!”  
     For the rest of the ride, not even Papyrus said anything. When they arrived home, the three of them sat in the car for a couple minutes, for whatever reason.  
     “What’s the deal? It’s too quiet in here,” he asked.  
     “I’m… just tired,” Frisk said. “There’s no way I could do school every day. I commend those who do.”  
     They made their way inside, and Frisk breathed a sigh of relief. Home Sweet Home. No matter where she went, and no matter how long she had been gone, she always loved returning home.  
     The mud room of the house, which could be entered through the garage, connected to the kitchen via a small hallway. As the trio entered the kitchen, they could smell something cooking in the oven.   
     Asgore came in as well, from the living room.  
     “Howdy!” He greeted them with a smile. He noticed how exhausted Frisk and Toriel looked. “How was school?” he asked hesitantly.  
     “Great!” Papyrus said. “Where is Sans? I must tell him about my dodgeball prowess.”  
     “Living room,” he said, pointing behind him with his thumb. “Honey?” he said to Toriel.  
     Without saying anything, she walked over to Asgore, gave him a quick peck on the cheek and rubbed his arm before exiting.   
     Asgore, clearly concerned about his wife’s strange behavior, gave Frisk a look. Frisk shrugged and joined the others in the living room.   
     “Welcome home, Smarty Pants,” Sans greeted her.   
     “Hey, Lazy Bones,” she retorted, sitting down next to him on the couch. “Hi, Alphys,” she added.  
     Alphys was sitting in the recliner that was next to Asgore’s, munching on some grapes. She waved, then held up a grape. Frisk opened her mouth, and from across the room, Alphys threw it at her. It hit her in the forehead.  
     Frisk laughed, then popped the grape into her mouth. “How were things around here?”  
     “Quiet. Just the way I like it,” Sans answered.  
     “You haven’t left the couch all day, have you?” Frisk said.  
     “He really hasn’t,” Alphys chimed in. “There’s going to be a Sans shaped imprint on that couch when he finally gets up,” she laughed.   
     “I somehow have trouble believing it was quiet,” Frisk said. “Where’s Undyne? I bet she has the scoop.”  
     “In her gym,” Alphys said.  
     “She’s gotta look good for her man,” Sans said.  
     Frisk didn’t dare look over at Papyrus to catch his reaction. And she didn’t have to. She could almost feel it, even from where he was sitting on the other couch.  
     “Sans, if you say that again, you’re going to have a very bad time.”  
     “Relax bro, I’m just messing with you,” Sans said, just as mellow as ever.  
     “Frisk,” Asgore said, entering the living room. He didn’t sit down, however. “Do you know what’s bothering your mom?”  
     “No sir, I don’t,” she replied. “She’s been acting off ever since we left the school.”  
     “That’s troublesome,” Asgore sighed, scratching his chin. “Perhaps I’ll go upstairs and check on her.”  
     Just as he was about to start up the stairs, Toriel was on her way back down, giving a slight smile when she noticed him.  
     “Tori! I was just on my way up to see if you… wanted some tea,” he said.   
     “I would love some, thank you, dearest.” Toriel took a seat on the same couch as Papyrus. “Alphys, did everyone behave today?” Toriel asked, as if she had appointed Alphys as the babysitter.  
     “Yes, actually,” Alphys answered. “I spent the majority of the day in the lab, Undyne spent most of it in the kitchen, and I’m pretty sure Sans and Asgore didn’t move much.”  
     “Hey now, give me more credit than that,” Asgore chuckled, entering the room with a mug of warm tea. He reached over the back of the couch and handed it to Toriel. “I dusted the pictures.”  
     “Oh yeah, so you did,” Alphys remembered, “So I guess Sans is the only one who did absolutely nothing today.”  
     “Surprise, surprise,” Papyrus said flatly.  
     Frisk looked around the room, examining the pictures that Asgore claimed to have dusted. There were so many of them. There were nice family pictures in which all seven of them wore matching sweaters, there were goofy pictures where Papyrus and Undyne were making faces, while Alphys hid her face from the camera, a selfie of Toriel, Asgore and Frisk all smiling brightly, and many more. All portraits of life together in the house, and the love between everyone.  
     Frisk smiled, then reached down and got her English class novel out of her backpack. She turned sideways and stretched her legs out over the rest of the couch, resting her back against Sans.  
     “Comfy?” he smiled.  
     “Very, thank you,” she answered. She opened her book, and immersed herself into the compelling story, tuning out the world around her. She didn’t come back up for air until she heard Undyne yell that dinner was ready.   
     Undyne had fixed some sort of baked chicken and some cheesy potatoes, which everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy.   
     “So, Toriel, about your meeting today…” Papyrus started.  
     “Ah, yes, you were wanting to know about that, weren’t you?” Toriel replied. “Some of the principals and other administrators and I discussed the inaugural graduation ceremony,” she explained. “And Frisk, it seems that even though you are technically two years behind, if you work very hard for the remainder of the school year, you will be able to graduate in May.”  
     “Wow, really?” Frisk beamed. “That’s awesome!” She paused for a moment. “Graduating high school is something I never thought I’d be able to accomplish since I left home. I’ll try my very best.”  
     After dinner, Frisk went upstairs to her office so she could start her homework. She decided to tackle Statistics first, just to get it out of the way. She had the book open, and her notes spread all across her desk. Only a few minutes in, she already had her head in her hands, frustration creeping up on her.  
     There was a knock on the door, and Frisk breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in her chair.   
     “Please, come in,” she said.   
     Toriel walked in and carefully closed the door behind her. “Frisk, if you have a few minutes, may we talk?”  
     “Yes, I think we should,” Frisk said, standing up and taking her backpack from the extra chair and setting it on the floor. She motioned for Toriel to have a seat there.  
     “Thank you,” Toriel said, taking the seat.  
     Frisk retook her seat also, and turned her chair so it would be facing Toriel. She noticed that Toriel seemed nervous. A feeling of trepidation fell over her.  
     Toriel took a deep breath. “Frisk, do you remember at the school earlier when Monster Kid’s mother became so concerned for him because she didn’t know where he was?”  
     “Yeah.” Frisk cringed slightly. “That was scary. I was worried about him, too.”  
     “As was I,” Toriel agreed. “It’s never a good feeling when you know that there is a child unaccounted for.” She paused. “It brought a thought to mind. Frisk, have you ever thought of contacting your mother?”  
     A lump caught in Frisk’s throat. She furrowed her brow. “But… you’re my mom,” she said, forcing a small breath of laughter.  
     “I am your _mom_ ,” Toriel repeated. “And I love you so much. But I am not your _mother_. Does that make sense?”  
     It did, but Frisk didn’t want to admit it. Toriel had taken her in on more than one occasion. She loved her and looked out for her even back when everyone else was out for her soul. She included Frisk in her family, and by doing so, she became Frisk’s mom.  
     But clearly, Frisk was not her biological child. Toriel was not Frisk’s birth mother. Toriel was a fantastic mom, but she could never be Frisk’s real mother, even though Frisk wanted desperately for it to be that way.   
     “No… I, uh, haven’t thought of her much,” Frisk answered.   
     “I think perhaps you should,” Toriel advised. “She’s probably been through quite a lot since you left home.”  
     Frisk scoffed. “I highly doubt that.”  
     “What makes you say that?” Toriel retorted. “What makes you so sure that she hasn’t sent out a search party? Lost sleep worrying about you? Made posters to raise awareness for the search efforts? Prayed for your health and safety? Hoped with everything she has that you might one day return home?”  
     “Because that’s just not who she is,” Frisk replied. “She doesn’t care. If she did, she would have reached out to me.” Frisk sighed. “I’m the global Ambassador for the monsters. I’ve been on the news. I’ve headlined newspapers. She’s seen me. She knows.”  
     “Perhaps not,” Toriel said. “Perhaps she does not have the time for trivial things such as television when she is focusing on finding her child.” Toriel gave Frisk a few seconds to answer. When she didn’t, Toriel continued.   
     “What did she do to you, Frisk? What did she do to lead you to believe that she doesn’t care that her child is missing?”  
     “I’m not missing,” Frisk countered.  
     “Frisk.”  
     Frisk merely shook her head in response.   
     “Frisk…”  
     “She never cared in the past. Why would she start now?”  
     “I am almost positive that that is not true,” Toriel said.  
     “Keyword, _almost_ ,” Frisk pointed out. “That ‘almost’ that’s preventing you from being sure that my mother cares about me? Yeah, that’s reality.” She paused to change her tone. She didn’t want to sass Toriel at a time like this.  
     “She was a stay at home mom,” Frisk began. “You’d think that would mean that she was always around, but she wasn’t. Not in the way that really matters. She was never concerned about me. All she cared about was keeping our nice suburban house neat and tidy. She cared about being a pristine, picture-perfect trophy wife.   
     “When it came to me, all she cared about is that I would someday marry the next door neighbor kid, Chad Dillingham, and that his parents would pay for the wedding, so that I ‘might one day be a great trophy wife, too.’” Frisk mocked the last part in an accent that lead Toriel to assume it was Frisk’s impersonation of her mother.  
     “It wasn’t worthy of her attention when I needed help with my homework, or was sad, or was scared. Her and my father both were so focused on making sure that our lives looked perfect on the outside, that neither of them cared at all about what it looked like on the inside.   
     “I could have sworn I was invisible, unless they needed me to make an appearance for something. Sometimes they would actually bump into me and not notice. It made me so mad… I felt so alone. So, I left. They probably haven’t even noticed. And if they do care that I’m gone, it’s not because they’re concerned about me, it’s because I made them look bad.”  
     “I’m… sorry to hear that,” Toriel answered after a few moments. “I want you to know that you are not deserving of that kind of treatment. But if you would just think about-”  
     “No,” Frisk interrupted. “I mean… I’m sorry, but, I don’t think you understand.”  
     “You’re right,” Toriel said. “I don’t understand. Not your viewpoint, anyway. But I do understand what it’s like to lose a child.”  
     Frisk’s heart felt like it had dropped to her stomach, and her stomach felt like it had dropped all the way to her feet. She hadn’t thought of it that way.  
     “When Asriel left the castle with Chara’s body, it was agonizing. I could hardly sleep, I could hardly eat, knowing that I… well, that I didn’t know. I didn’t know if he was okay, I didn’t know where he was, and I certainly didn’t know what would happen next.  
     “When he… passed on, to be frank, it ruined me. I fell into depression, I distanced myself from Asgore…”  
     Frisk got up out of her chair, knelt down by Toriel’s chair, and held her hands. She could hear it in Toriel’s voice that she was having trouble talking about this.  
     “I now realize that it was then that I needed to be surrounded by my loved ones the most,” she continued.   
     “I’m so sorry, Mom,” Frisk said, gripping Toriel’s hands tighter. “I’m so sorry that he’s gone. I’m sorry that… that I can’t help. That I can’t be him. For you.”  
     Toriel put her hands on Frisk’s cheeks. “My precious child, do not apologize. You are wonderful and I love you more than you know.” Toriel’s voice wavered, but she quickly regained her composure.  
     Much to her own surprise, Frisk had held it together throughout the conversation so far. But when she saw Toriel falter emotionally, she lost it. First she only let out a small whimper, but then the floodgates opened.  
     “I love you too,” she said, the first few tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. “That’s why I don’t want to contact my mother,” she went on, her voice now shaky. “She’ll want me to go back. She’ll want me to come home. I’ve ruined the image of our family, I’ve probably tarnished the Everett name. She’ll want me to come back and make everything look picture perfect again.  
     “I don’t want to go back. This is my home. I want to stay here with you, and Dad, and everyone else. I love you all so much… I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to be Frisk Dillingham. I don’t even want to be Frisk Everett. I just want to be Frisk Dreemurr.”  
     Toriel wiped Frisk’s tears away as they came. She stood up, and Frisk followed suit.   
     Frisk buried her face into Toriel’s shoulder, and Toriel wrapped her in a hug. Frisk was unable to control the sniffles and sobs that escaped her. She had kept them in for too long.   
     “You do not have to go anywhere, my child,” Toriel said. “I don’t want you to leave, either. You should know that more than anyone,” she added. “I am not asking you to leave. I would never do that.” She separated from the hug and gave Frisk a reassuring smile.  
     “Even so,” Toriel continued, “the loss of a child, or even the disappearance of one, is a terrible pain that I would not wish upon anyone. That is why I’m encouraging you to at least consider reaching out to your mother. Even just to let her know that you are safe, and that you are happy. But by no means will I force you to. If you absolutely do not want to, then you do not have to.”  
     Frisk nodded and let out a couple more sniffles. She took a few shaky breaths, trying to regain her composure.  
     “Okay,” she squeaked.  
     “Come here,” Toriel said, once again comforting Frisk with a hug. The two of them stayed that way for a few moments.   
     “That is what I wanted to talk to you about. I am glad we could both air some grievances. I will leave you to your work now,” Toriel said, heading for the door.  
     “Mom, wait,” Frisk stopped her. “I, uh, could use some help with this math homework. Would you give me a hand?”  
     Toriel smiled. “Of course I will.” She pushed the chair she had been sitting in over to Frisk’s desk, and the two of them sat down and got to work.

~~~

     Even with Toriel’s tutelage and assistance, Frisk’s math homework took longer than expected. After it was completed, Toriel went downstairs to sit in the living room with everyone. Frisk elected to call it a night.  
     She changed into some pajamas, got all snuggly, and quickly fell asleep. During her sleep, she felt herself wake up, but didn’t acknowledge it. She continued laying there with her eyes closed.  
     “So, are you going to wake up? Or…”  
     Frisk’s eyes shot open, and she saw Asriel sitting down beside her.  
     “Hey!” she greeted him, slightly startled. “Sorry, I, uh-”  
     “It’s okay,” he shrugged, giving a small laugh.  
     “It’s only been a day since we last talked, are you sure you’re up to this?” Frisk asked. She sat up.  
     “Oh yeah,” he answered. “I didn’t end up using all of my energy yesterday. So I should be okay for a little while. Plus, I think I’m getting better at this!”  
     “That’s great, Asriel!” Frisk cheered.   
     “I think our last conversation got cut a little short,” he said.   
     “Yeah, me too,” Frisk agreed. “But I spent all of yesterday at school and doing homework. I didn’t exactly have the time to think of a way to stop the monsters,”  
     “Oh, me neither,” Asriel said. “But that’s not why I came by. I just kind of wanted to say hello.”   
     Frisk smiled, but then it quickly turned to a frown.  
     “What’s… what’s wrong? Is it something I said?” Asriel asked.   
     “No, no!’ Frisk reassured him. “It’s just… I think you should visit Mom.”  
     “Visit Mom?”  
     “Yeah, you know, like how you visit me. Like this,” Frisk explained.  
     Asriel sighed. “I can’t.”  
     “What?” Needless to say, that was a response Frisk was not expecting. “You can’t? Why not?”  
     “It would be too painful. For the both of us,” he said. “She feels things for me that I am currently incapable of feeling. I can’t reciprocate those feelings, and it would crush her. I can’t do that to her.”  
     Frisk paused for a few moments. “Her and I had a talk earlier, and… it still hurts her. What happened to you, I mean. It still hurts. I could tell.”  
     Asriel hung his head. “Believe me, it hurts me, too. But it was the result of a series of bad decisions that I made. I deserved it.”  
     “No you didn’t, Asriel. And neither did Mom. Or Dad.”  
     “I know _they_ didn’t,” he said. “But that’s an entirely different thing.”  
     “When we were talking… I could just see it in her eyes. It almost _physically_ hurts, both her and I, to know what she went through. She’s the sweetest thing, and-”  
     “She didn’t deserve to feel what she felt. I know,” Asriel chimed in. “I take full blame for that. She deserves all the happiness in the world. But I’m just not capable of providing that for her. But Frisk, you are.”  
     “Am I? Am I really?” Frisk said as more of a statement than a question. “Don’t get me wrong, we’re happy. Not just Mom and Dad and I, but the others, too. All seven of us love each other and we’re happy as a family. We have a good life. But at the end of the day, you’re not here, Asriel. And that’s a void that can’t be filled.”  
     Asriel was quiet for a while. “There’s nothing I can do,” he muttered, shaking his head.  
     Frisk shook her head. “That… can’t be true.”  
     “It is, Frisk. I’m sorry, but it is. I’m dead. Right now I’m only a step above a figment of your imagination.”  
     “You’re not dead, you’re a flower,” Frisk corrected. “I just… I wish there was something I could do. I want so badly to fix this. To bring you back somehow. For Mom, for Dad, for… for you.”  
     Frisk drew her knees up to her chest, rested her chin on them, then wrapped her arms around her legs.  
     Asriel scooted closer to her. “I wish I could comfort you,” he said.  
     “It just makes me so sad,” she said. “Thinking about what happened to you. Like I said earlier… it’s almost physically painful. It’s just… heartbreaking.”  
     “How do you think I felt?” Asriel said with a single breath of laughter.  
     Frisk thought for a few moments. “Asriel… I’m going to do it. I’m going to find a way to bring you back.”  
     “What? Frisk, that’s insane.”  
     She stood up. “I will find a way.”  
     “I don’t have a soul,” he reminded her, also standing himself up.   
     “I’ll find a way, Asriel. This can’t just be the end of your story. There’s no way that this is how it ends.”  
     “I’ve been gone for years. This ended a long time ago.”  
     “I’m going to stop believing that right now, and you should too,” she said,  
     “Frisk, this is impossible.”  
     “But look at all of the impossible things that have been done! I survived the Underground, I survived you, I _saved_ you, I…” She paused, and her eyes got wide. “I saved you,” she repeated. “I _saved_ you. I remember it, plain as day. After I saved everyone else’s souls, I reached out and touched yours, too. It was in there.”  
     “Frisk, I don’t think…”  
     “Asriel, please.”  
     “The culmination of all of those other souls gave me life. Sure, okay, yeah, maybe I did have a soul. But the other souls are what powered it. Now that they’ve all been returned, mine has since disappeared again.”  
     “So what I’m hearing is, that somewhere out there your soul is floating around just waiting for something to jump start it?”  
     Asriel didn’t have a counter for that one. He couldn’t clarify his situation any further. Then it occurred to him that maybe it wasn’t that Frisk didn’t understand, maybe it was that he didn’t understand.  
     “Well, when you put it that way, maybe-”  
     “Then maybe there’s hope!” Frisk smiled. “No, I know there is!” She took a minute to gather her thoughts. “Asriel, you claim that you’re incapable of love and compassion. But I don’t believe that for a second, because you have a perfect smile and a strong laugh. You’re apologetic and sincere. You know right from wrong. And sometimes… that’s exactly what love and compassion are made of.”  
     “Frisk.” His expression was solemn. “Thank you for having faith in me.”  
     “I’ll do everything I can. I’ll ask Alphys to help, too.”  
     Asriel furrowed his brow. “Dr. Alphys?”  
     “Yeah. She spent a lot of time studying the nature of souls. If anyone’s qualified to handle stuff like this, it’s her.”  
     Asriel disappeared from view for a second, then came back. Although he now appeared to be blurry, as if Frisk had been wearing glasses but had taken them off.  
     “Whoa,” she said, squinting as hard as she could. “What’s going on?”  
     “Your body is waking up,” he said. “I’m going to have to say goodbye for now, but I promise that I’ll stay in touch in the coming days.”  
     Before Frisk could even reply, the room had gotten significantly brighter. She blinked, and when she reopened her eyes, she was laying in her bed, looking up at the ceiling. She sat up and looked around.   
      _‘What even are those?’_ she thought to herself. _‘Dreams? Out-of-body experiences?’_  
     She pushed the covers off of herself and swiveled her legs over to the edge of the bed, then hopped onto the floor. She shuffled around her room, putting on some slippers and a hoodie.  
      _‘I need a sign that they’re real,’_ she thought. She closed her eyes. _‘Asriel… if you can still hear me, and if you’re able, please send me some sort of sign that our conversations are real.’_  
     She stood in the center of her room for a few minutes waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, she sighed and went on about her morning. She opened her door and stepped into the hallway.  
     Asgore had been passing by, and when he noticed her, he walked over to greet her.  
     “Good morning, Frisk! Check out what I just found in the shed!” He showed her what he had been carrying. A little white sign with a yellow flower on it. The flower wore a bright smile. “Neat sign, huh? I forgot that I had this. I’ll put it in the yard when Spring comes,” he said.  
     Frisk’s eyes widened. “Yeah… neat sign,” she agreed. She could almost picture Asriel giving her a thumbs up. “That’s a good sign.”  
     “Anyway, everyone else is still in the kitchen having breakfast. Go get something to eat,” he smiled, continuing down the hall.  
     She took a whiff of the air, and noticed that the faint smell of pancakes was wafting all the way from downstairs. She trotted down the stairs and turned into the kitchen, where she saw Alphys and Sans sitting at the island, each with a mug of coffee. Toriel was standing at the counter flipping the pancakes.  
     “Morning, everyone,” Frisk said.   
     “Oh, good morning, my child!” Toriel replied. “I wondered when you would wake up. Pancake?” she asked, holding up the spatula.  
     “Please!” she answered. She took a seat on a stool at the island beside Sans. “You’re up early today,” she commented.  
     Sans shrugged. “Thought I’d grab a coffee with Alph this morning.”  
     “Morning, Alphys,” Frisk said.   
     “Hi,” she said. “Sorry there’s no toast this morning. The toaster still needs work,” she added sheepishly.   
     Papyrus entered from the living room holding a mug. “Any coffee left?” he asked.  
     “Just enough,” Toriel answered. “Would you like another pancake?”  
     “No, thank you,” he said. “I don’t have any more room. Literally,” he laughed. “Morning, Frisk.”  
     Frisk waved, then walked over to claim her pancake.  
     “Paps, would you wanna drive to the city tonight?” Sans asked.   
     “Sure! Why not?”  
     “Alphys, you wanna come too?”  
     “Go with you guys? To the city? Tonight? Oh, I… I don’t know…”  
     “Come on, it’ll be fun,” Sans said. “We can see if Undyne wants to come along, too.”  
     “Can I come?” Frisk asked.   
     “I don’t know, kid. I was wanting to hit that monsters-only hang-out,” Sans answered.  
     “Please? I promise I won’t cramp your style.” Frisk batted her eyelashes and gave a charming smile. “Please Sans?”  
     Sans glanced over at Toriel. “Alright, fine. But make sure it’s okay with your mom first,” he winked.  
     “Mom, can I go?”  
     “Oh, I suppose,” she sighed, although she wore a smile. “But you have to get your homework done first.”  
     Frisk scoffed. “No problem.”  
     After breakfast, Alphys went to the lab, Sans and Papyrus took to the couch, and Frisk headed for her office to get started on whatever homework she had left.  
     Frisk couldn’t wait to go to the city. She loved the atmosphere, the lights, the coffee, the stores. She was excited to walk the streets with her friends, and looking forward to seeing this club that Sans was so excited about.   
     And, of course, she couldn’t forget about the tiny shred of hope she had that she might once again see the young man who helped her out at the post office.   
     The odds of encountering a complete stranger in the big city a second time were stacked way against her. But, somehow, she had a good feeling.


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some soul science, and a trip to the city!

     Frisk’s Statistics book, along with her already finished homework, sat on her desk in her office, as did her English novel and the completed worksheet. She dumped the remaining contents of her backpack onto her desk and began to sift through them.   
     “Government, and… Physics,” she said to herself. “Piece of cake.”  
     She whirred her way through her Government homework, and took a breather before moving on. She opened her Physics book and was thoroughly intimidated. She stared at it for some time, gathering her thoughts.   
     “Maybe Alphys can help me!” she said, perking up as if a lightbulb had just appeared above her head.   
      _‘I do have to enlist her to help out with Asriel, anyway,’_ she thought. _‘But… I’m still not sure if I should tell anyone about him. Especially Mom and Dad. I have no clue how they would react.’_  
     Frisk sighed, put her Physics book back in her backpack and straightened up everything else that was left on her desk. Backpack in tow, she made her way to the basement and to Alphys’ lab.  
     She stood at the door for a few moments, trying to find a way to lead into the subject that was really on her mind.  
      _‘So, Alphys, do you happen to have a soul kept in a jar somewhere around here? Can I borrow it for a little while? I just need to bring Asriel back to life real quick,’_ she thought to herself. _‘No, that’s not right. Hey, Alphys, I was just talking to Asriel, and I was wondering… what do you know about tracking down souls and injecting them into everyday objects? Like, uh, flowers?’_  
     “Come on, Frisk. That’s just dumb,” she told herself. “I’ll just… I’ll just… save that conversation for another day. Problem solved.”  
     She knocked on the lab door to let Alphys know she was there, then the door opened on it’s own and she let herself in. She vaguely knew her way around the lab, so she made her way to Alphys’ work table.  
     “Hey,” she said.  
     “Hi, Frisk,” Alphys greeted her, still hunched over the table. She turned around and wiped some oil off of her hands. “What brings you down here?”  
     “Just trying to convince you to come to the city with all of us tonight,” she smiled. She took a moment to really examine the lab. She looked around at all of the display cases, stray blueprints, and shelves full of disassembled electronics. She noticed an action figure that closely resembled Mettaton in his box-like form.  
     “Never noticed this before,” she commented, reaching up and carefully taking it off of the shelf.  
     “What’s that? Oh, yeah,” Alphys said. “That was my prototype of my scale model of original Mettaton. There are some others around here somewhere.” She looked around. “Oh, here we go.” She stood on her tippy toes and got from another shelf a scale model of Mettaton EX.  
     “Nice!” Frisk just so happened to glance at another shelf behind Alphys. She saw another figure. One that looked very similar to Mettaton EX, but appeared to have wings of some sort.   
     “What’s that one back there?” she inquired.  
     Alphys turned around to look, then turned back around to Frisk so quickly that she could have given herself whiplash.   
     “Oh, that? It’s nothing,” she said. “Just… just another silly prototype. I never got around to building that one.”  
     “Got it,” Frisk nodded. “Hey… speaking of Mettaton, can I ask you something?”  
     “Go for it,” Alphys answered.  
     “I heard once from someone that he’s simply just a robot with a soul. If you built him, how did you make his soul?”  
     “I didn’t,” Alphys admitted. “Mettaton himself is a monster. He’s a little ghost, he has his own soul. The robots that I built are basically just the shells that he inhabits,” she explained.  
     “Oh, I see,” Frisk said. She paused for a few moments. “Alphys, can I ask you something else?”  
     “Yeah, Frisk. Anything.”  
     “What happens to a monster’s soul after the monster dies?”  
     “Well,” Alphys started, “Monster souls can’t persist after death. The only exception, of course, being the souls of Boss Monsters, like Toriel or Asgore, for example, in which case the soul can persist only for a short time.  
     “But as for what happens to them, I’m not exactly sure. All I know is that it just kind of… disappears. Whether it breaks into pieces, or melts or whatever, I’m not positive. But it certainly ceases to exist.”  
     “Ceases to exist? So there’s no retrieving it?”  
     “I’m afraid not. And if there is, I wouldn’t even begin to know how,” Alphys said.  
     “Is it possible to create an artificial soul?” Frisk asked.  
     “Not that I know of,” Alphys replied.  
     “But, I mean, you used the determination formula to bring a flower to life. That’s almost like creating a soul, right?”  
     Alphys sighed and took her glasses off. “That experiment… was a huge mistake,” she said. “But to answer your question, no.” She put her glasses back on. “You see, the contents of any given soul are divided up into two major categories. One is kind of like the will to live. Basic bodily functions, the ability to actually stay alive. The other contains feelings, thoughts and emotions.  
     “I was able to create a substance to activate generic life, but that’s only half of what’s needed. It’s impossible to scientifically generate emotions.  
     “For example, it would be like constructing a brain. It is indeed possible to repair a brain or even to build an artificial one,” Alphys continued. “But that’s simply as far as science will take us. We cannot plug in memories of our own creation. We can’t install artificial emotions. Therefore, only half of the job can be done.”  
     Frisk tried her hardest to understand, although she didn’t want to settle for the answers she was getting. She wanted to find some sort of loophole.  
     “But if you can create determination then you can technically create half of a soul, right? That’s something, right?”  
     “That’s complicated,” Alphys said. “Determination is simultaneously part of a soul, and an entirely separate thing. Yes, determination is part of a complete soul, but it can also thrive on it’s own. It doesn’t need the rest of a soul to function, unlike the other way around. Determination without a soul is very possible, and extremely dangerous. A soul without determination can’t exist.   
     “And technically, that’s only in terms of human souls. Monsters don’t even possess determination. Our bodies can’t handle it, therefore our souls are almost completely different. So unfortunately, it’s not as progressive as it sounds.”  
     “But, the Amalgamates. They had thoughts and feelings,” Frisk pointed out.  
     “They were living creatures,” Alphys said. “The determination, when used on them, was meant to preserve the souls that they already had. It was different from when I applied determination to an inanimate object that had no soul to begin with.  
     “Bringing something to life does not automatically give it a soul. If someone wants to bring something to life _and_ give it a soul, well, I’m sure you’ve heard the Birds and the Bees talk before…”  
     “Oh…” As the conversation had progressed, Frisk was looking more and more defeated. Although she tried to hide it, Alphys still noticed.  
     “Any particular reason you’re asking all of these questions?” she asked Frisk.  
     “Nope,” Frisk said. “Just curious.”  
     Alphys shot Frisk a glare indicating just how thoroughly unconvinced she was.   
     “One last question…” Frisk added. She rummaged through her backpack, dug out a book and held it out. “Would you help me with my Physics homework?”  
     “Surface Physics, huh?” Alphys smiled and took the book from Frisk. She flipped through some of the pages. “Sure, I’ll give it a go!”

~~~

     After successfully completing the Physics homework, Alphys stayed in the lab to continue her work, while Frisk triumphantly made her way to the ground floor of the house. The guys were in the living room watching a game show on TV, and Frisk waved to them as she passed through. She poked her head into the kitchen, where she saw Toriel and Undyne each mixing something together.  
     “Got my homework done,” she smirked. “With… some help from Alphys,” she added, much less smug.  
     “Good job! I will review it later,” Toriel said. “You may go to the city with Sans and Papyrus tonight.”  
     “Yes! You’re coming, aren’t you, Undyne?”  
     She shrugged, then switched from mixing to chopping up some vegetables. “I think I’ll pass this time. I want to save my trip to the city for when Papyrus and I go.”  
     “Aw, what? Come on,” Frisk pleaded, drawing out the word ‘on’ for a few seconds.  
     Undyne chuckled. “I’m going to stay home, okay? You guys have your fun,” she smiled.  
     “Alright. If you’re sure,” Frisk sighed. She headed back up to her office.  
     “What’s the matter, dear?” Toriel asked. “You normally jump at the chance to spend time with everyone.”  
     “I know, but…” Undyne peeked around the corner into the living room to make sure no one was eavesdropping. “Sans teases Papyrus pretty bad when the three of us are together,” she said.  
     “That sort of thing usually doesn’t bother you,” Toriel said.  
     “It doesn’t bother me,” Undyne clarified. “Sans won’t dare pick on me like that. But it really irritates Papyrus, and that just doesn’t sit well with me.”  
     “He’s just jealous because someone else has his brother’s attention. He feels threatened, and that’s the only way he knows how to react,” Toriel explained.  
     “Well it’s annoying,” Undyne said, chopping the vegetables with a little extra force.  
     “Maybe he would stop if you told him that it bothers you.”  
     “It doesn’t bother me!” Undyne growled, bringing the knife down so hard that it stuck into the cutting board. It made a loud thunk.   
     “Is everything okay in there?” Asgore called from the living room.  
     “Yes, dearest, everything is fine,” Toriel said.   
     Undyne sighed and pulled the knife from the board so she could continue her rhythmic chopping.

~~~

     After dinner, Sans, Frisk and Papyrus piled into the car and made their way to the city. Upon arriving, the trio got out of the car and began to stroll down the street.  
     “Where did you say this place was again, Sans? 5th street?” Frisk asked.  
     He took a while to answer. “Uh, yeah.”  
     “What’s wrong?”  
     “Nothing. Let’s just, uh. Do you guys wanna grab a coffee first?” Sans said.  
     “I mean, sure… but, didn’t you say that there’s spider cider there?”  
     “Yeah, but…”  
     Sans seemed nervous, which was odd, because Sans never appeared to be anything less than calm and cool. Papyrus noticed, and sprang to his brother’s rescue.  
     “Coffee sounds good. Let’s hit that shop right across the street,” he suggested.   
     The three of them crossed at the nearest crosswalk and stood outside the coffee shop. Frisk looked inside and saw that a good crowd had gathered inside. It looked warm and inviting in there.  
     “Wait outside, okay Frisk? We’ll only be a minute,” Sans said. “What would you like?”  
     Frisk tried reading his expression, but to no avail. Her brain immediately went into overdrive.   
      _‘Why is he acting so weird? Why is he being so stubborn about his silly little club? Why doesn’t he want me to go?’_ All of a sudden, she had a terrible realization, and her eyes widened. All the color drained from her face.  
     “Frisk? Hey, you okay?” Papyrus asked. “You got really pale all of a sudden… do you need to sit down?”  
     “No, no, I’m fine…” she muttered. “No coffee for me, please. Maybe some tea instead.”  
     Sans’ manner changed from elusive to genuinely concerned. “Tea… coming right up,” he said. Him and Papyrus went inside.  
      _‘Oh my goodness,’_ Frisk thought to herself. _‘Sans… he doesn’t want me to go to the club because… he’s part of the group planning the attack. That’s what the club is. Monsters up here in cahoots with monsters down there… that’s it. It has to be, right? That’s the only explanation I can think of. That’s why he doesn’t want me to go. Sans is…’_  
     “Oh… I’m going to be sick,” she said out loud, putting a hand on her forehead. She closed her eyes and leaned up against the window.  
      _‘Asriel. Please… Asriel I have to talk to you right now. Asriel!’_  
     After a few seconds when nobody came, she stepped out further into the sidewalk and quickly got her cell phone out of her pocket and started rapid-fire typing a text to Undyne.  
      _‘This isn’t fun. I want to go home. There’s something I need to tell-’_  
     She was bumped in the arm by a passerby, and her phone was knocked from her hand.  
     “Oh, I’m so sorry!” the person said.  
     “Don’t worry about it, it was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention.” She bent down to retrieve her phone, then looked at whoever she had run into. It was him. “Oh my goodness, hey!” she said, unable to contain her excitement.  
     “Hey!” he smiled. “You’re the girl from outside the post office, aren’t you?” he said. “Funny running into you again. Literally,” he laughed.  
     “Yeah,” Frisk agreed.  
     “My name’s Jasik, by the way,” he revealed, holding his hand out. “Jasik Payne.”  
     “Frisk Dreemurr,” she said, taking his hand.  
     “Frisk, nice name,” he said as they shook hands. “You’re not roaming around the city by yourself, are you? That’s dangerous.”  
     “Oh, no, my… my friends are in getting us some coffee,” she said, pointing behind her to the coffee shop. “What about you?”  
     “Guilty,” Jasik said, holding his arms up. “But I’m just walking home from this meeting I had. I’ll be fine,” he smiled.  
     His smile practically turned her legs to jelly. “Good to know,” she said.  
     “Hey, uh, is your phone okay?” he asked. “It looked like it took a nasty fall, there.”  
     “Oh yeah, it’s fine,” Frisk said. “Thank goodness for life-proof cases, right?” she laughed. She glanced down at her phone, and noticed that the text to Undyne never sent. She deleted the words before anyone else could read them.  
     “Agreed,” he said. He paused for a few seconds. “Hey, listen… we’ve met on accident a couple times. Would you maybe want to meet up on purpose sometime?”  
     “On purpose? As in… intentionally?” she stammered.  
     “Yes,” Jasik chuckled.   
     Frisk smiled. “Yeah, you know, I’d really like that.”  
     Jasik smiled again, showing off his brilliantly white teeth. “Great,” he said. “And since your phone still works, would you mind if we traded phone numbers?”  
     “Oh, uh, sure! Of course!”  
     Jasik got his phone out of his pocket, and the two swiftly typed each other’s numbers into their phones.  
     “Great, thanks!” he said.  
     “Yeah, thank you!” Frisk said, placing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “What are the odds of us seeing each other for a second time in a city like this?” she laughed. “I can hardly believe it.”  
     “It is pretty crazy,” Jasik agreed. “I tend to walk the same path pretty frequently, though. I’m sure we would have bumped into each other again.”  
     The two of them simply stood there and smiled at each other for a few moments, even as people around them continued about their evening.  
     “I should probably get going. My mom was expecting me back at a certain time,” Jasik said. “But hey, I’ll text you in a couple days, okay?” he added as he started walking backwards down the sidewalk.  
     “Sounds good. Talk to you later!”  
     Jasik waved, then turned around and disappeared into the crowd.  
     Frisk placed a hand on her forehead again, only this time with a smile on her face, trying to contain schoolgirl-like giggles. She turned around, and as she did, Sans and Papyrus were just coming out of the coffee shop.  
     “I got you some raspberry infused green tea, I hope that’ll be okay,” Sans said, extending his arm to hold the cup out for her.  
     As if someone had flipped a switch, Frisk’s smile gave way to an expression of disbelief and fear.  
     Sans frowned. “What is it? Did I get the wrong kind?”  
     “No…” Frisk said, practically in a whisper. “This is… this is fine. Th-thanks.”  
     “Let’s get going, shall we?” Papyrus said.  
     Sans led the way, Papyrus beside him, and Frisk a few steps behind. She was running through several different scenarios and reactions within her head. They reached 5th street, and Sans stopped.  
     “Here, down this alley,” he said. The trio walked into the murky shadow. “The door is just a little further.”  
     “I…” Frisk started. Sans and Papyrus stopped and turned around to face her, although she could hardly see. “I don’t think I want to go anymore.”  
     “What?” the brothers said in unison.  
     “I don’t want to go in.” Frisk’s breathing got heavy. “Sans, what’s in there?”  
     “Big scary monsters,” he told her, wiggling his fingers.  
     “What is in there?” she repeated, unamused, putting emphasis on every word.  
     “Frisk, what’s the problem?” Papyrus asked. “You’ve been acting strange ever since we got here. What’s going on?”  
     “Why don’t you tell me?” she retorted.  
     “Frisk, it’s just a hang-out. You were the one so adamant to come along,” Sans said, slightly annoyed. He softened his tone. “Okay, just… tell me what’s wrong.”  
     “Why didn’t you want me to come along? What’s in there that you don’t want me to see?”  
     “Look, that’s not it,” Sans said.   
     “Then why were _you_ acting so weird earlier?” Frisk asked, putting him on blast.  
     “Because I don’t know how you’re going to react to the place,” he said. “And more importantly, I don’t know how the place is going to react to you. They might not let you in because you’re not a monster. And if they do let you in, then what? The other monsters might razz you. And if they pick on you, I’ll get angry. And when I get angry…”  
     His left eye began to glow a soft blue, illuminating the dark alley.   
     “It’s a bad time.”   
     “Oh…” Frisk mumbled.  
     Papyrus reached out and put a hand on Sans’ shoulder, and his eye returned to normal, as did his demeanor.  
     “So, you coming or what?” he said, just as casual as ever.  
     “Uh, yeah,” Frisk said. “Right behind you guys.”  
     Sans nodded and straightened his jacket. He led them down the alley a little further, then knocked on a door on the side of the building to their left.  
     A small slot opened near the top of the door, and a pair of white, glowing eyes peeked out.   
     “Who do we have here?” a deep, male voice said. “Looks like Sans, Papyrus, and… who are you?”  
     “I’m, uh, my name’s Frisk,” she said, smiling sheepishly.  
     “Human…” the voice said. “You’ll have to leave. This place is for monsters only.”  
     “Don’t worry, Larry, she’s cool,” Sans said.  
     “Monsters only,” Larry repeated. “You know the rules.”  
     “Frisk here is an honorary monster,” Sans said in a tone that would indicate he was bragging. “In addition to being the daughter of the King and Queen of the Underground, she’s also the Ambassador for the monsters.”  
     “Oh,” Larry said. “Well… then I suppose you may enter, Ambassador. I mean… Princess?”  
     “‘Frisk’ will suffice,” she smiled. “Thanks, Larry.”  
     Larry shut the slot, turned some locks, then opened the door for the three of them to enter. As they passed him, Frisk noticed that he looked just like Jerry. Small and awkward. He had to climb a ladder to get to the slot in the door.  
     Sans led them down a long hallway, that eventually ended with another door. He put his hand on the handle, then looked back at Papyrus and Frisk.  
     “You have street cred now. You’re welcome,” he winked. “Ready?” He pushed the door open, and let Frisk and Papyrus walk in first.  
     Frisk looked around the room nervously. There was a bar, which appeared to serve family friendly drinks, a couple pool tables and dart boards, some couches and chairs, and a handful of tables.  
     Nearly every head in the room had turned when they noticed that more people had come in. When they noticed that there was a human in the room, all activity ceased. Even the music that had been playing was quieted.   
     “Hey guys, what’s up?” Sans asked, as if nothing was wrong. He stepped into the room. He motioned for Papyrus and Frisk to follow him, then took a seat at the bar. “Three spider ciders, please.”  
     The bartender, a casually dressed spider, gave a nod, and in a few seconds, slid three tall glasses across the counter to him.  
     “Thanks, pal,” he said, passing the glasses along. “Let’s go find a seat.”  
     They made their way to the center of the room, and Frisk carefully sat down on a couch. Sans sat down beside her, and Papyrus plopped down in a bean bag chair on the floor next to Frisk’s side of the couch.  
     “See? Now is this so bad?” Sans asked her.  
     Frisk could tell that all eyes were still on her, and she tried not to look any of the monsters back in the eye. She took a sip of her cider and looked at her knees. She started twiddling her thumbs nervously.  
     Sans glanced over at her, then surveyed the room. He made sure everyone was still watching, then he propped his feet up on a table, and protectively put his arm around her. The other monsters gradually returned to what they had been doing, and the music started back up.  
     Papyrus picked up a stack of magazines and started looking through them. They were mostly celebrity-watch magazines, with a couple of fitness and car enthusiast magazines thrown in as well.  
     “Here’s one for you, Sans,” Papyrus said, reaching up and handing him a car magazine. He also handed Frisk a magazine titled ‘The Hourly Scandal’. He picked one out for himself to read called ‘Sweet Biceps Monthly’.  
     The three of them sat and just kind of hung out, reading their magazines and enjoying their cider. After a while, a couple of monsters that resembled worms with extremities approached them.  
     “Sans, human, how about a game of pool?” one of them said.  
     “What do you say, kid?” Sans asked.  
     Frisk tried to run through some thoughts as fast as she could. She still had her guard up, but she also wanted to make an attempt to prove that she could fit in. She nodded, taking the worm up on it’s offer.  
     They played a game of two-on-two, then for the next game, another monster joined each of their teams. As the monsters began to warm up to the fact that Frisk was there, she herself lightened up as well.   
     Soon, the party was in full swing again. Good music was playing loudly over stereos strategically placed throughout the room, monsters were roaring with laughter, and everyone was being social with everyone. Even Frisk. After some time, she walked over to the bar to get another refreshment.  
     “Ah, the human appears,” the bartender said. He stopped what he was doing and rested all six of his hands on the counter. “What can I do for you, little lady?”  
     “I’d like a bottle of water, if you have.” She sat down on one of the barstools.  
     The barkeep nodded and turned around to where a small fridge was kept behind the bar. He opened it, retrieved an unopened bottle of water, and handed it to her.   
     “Thank you,” she said. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to be related to Muffet, would you?”  
     The fellow furrowed his brow, but smiled. “Yeah, that’s my sister. You know her?”  
     “Yeah! I met her back in the Underground!”  
     “The Underground?” He looked her up and down. “How’d you ever end up down there?”  
     Frisk shrugged and opened her water bottle. “It’s kind of a long story,” she said, then took a sip.  
     “Well, you know what they say,” he started, running one of his hands through his shaggy, black hair. “Bartenders are the best listeners.” He grabbed a coffee cup in one hand and a dishrag in another and started cleaning the cup off.   
     Frisk smiled and chuckled. “Okay, well…”  
     She told him about the fall, and about all the adventures she had while in the Underground, along with all of the friends she made, including Muffet. She also mentioned that she was there when the Barrier broke, and about the full house that the makeshift family resides in.  
     “Huh,” he responded. He put the now clean mug on the shelf behind him and picked a dirty glass off of the counter. “Now that I think of it, I do remember Muffet mentioning a human a few times. You must be the real deal, huh?”  
     “I mean, I guess so.”  
     “You _guess_ so? Come on,” he said. “Busting the Barrier, being the daughter of the King and Queen.”  
     “I, uh, I didn’t break the Barrier. I just happened to be around when it happened,” Frisk clarified.  
     Her new friend shrugged. “Even so,” he said. “My name’s Spout, by the way” he added, holding out a hand.  
     “Spout, got it. I’m Frisk,” she said, taking his hand.  
     “Frisk, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he smiled. They shook hands, then one by one he offered the rest of his hands for her to shake. She eventually shook all six of his hands.  
     Frisk laughed and found herself blushing. She adjusted her position on the stool to make herself more comfortable. “You’re kind of young to be tending a bar, aren’t you, Spout?”  
     “I’ll have you know, I’m the ripe old age of 20,” he bragged. “Plus, we only serve up clean drinks here. None of that wacky stuff.”  
     She snuck a quick look at his outfit. A gray t-shirt and black joggers. “I’m getting up there in age myself,” she countered. “Eighteen.”  
     “Oh wow, you’re so ancient,” Spout said sarcastically.   
     The two of them kept each other company while activity around them continued. However, after some time, it was time for Sans, Papyrus and Frisk to head home.  
     “Aw, what?” Frisk protested when Sans told her it was time to go. “But Spout says they’re just about to start karaoke!”  
     “Yep, we are definitely leaving,” Papyrus said, taking both Sans and Frisk by the arm and tugging them along.  
     “Guys, wait,” Spout said as they were on their way out. He dug around for something behind the counter, then scribbled on it. “Here, Frisk, take this.” He handed her an index card. “If you ever want to come back, show Larry this card. He’ll let you right in.”  
     Frisk smiled. “Thank you,” she said. She looked down at the card. One side had ‘Honorary Monster’ written on it, then she flipped it over and read the other side. It had a smiley face drawn on it and said ‘Princess Frisk’.  
     “This is great. I’ll always hold onto it,” she said.

~~~

     Frisk was all smiles during the walk back to the car.  
     “Have fun, kid?” Sans asked her.  
     “You know what? Yeah, I did,” she answered. “I had a lot of fun.”  
     “Good,” Papyrus smiled. “I had a good time as well. Never before have I gotten so much joy from throwing sharp projectiles at a round cork board.”  
     Sans laughed and shook his head.  
     Things were quiet on the ride home, and when they arrived back at the house, they found that things seemed quiet there, too. The living room was dark, the only light being the glow of the television. Asgore was asleep in his recliner, snoring away, and Toriel and Undyne were seated on the couch.  
     “Hey,” Frisk whispered when she walked in.   
     Toriel stood up to greet them. “Hello, my child. Sans, Papyrus, how was the evening?”  
     “Pretty great,” Sans answered.  
     “Indeed!” Papyrus chimed in. “But I will let Frisk tell you all about it, because I am going to get some sleep now,” he added.  
     “Right behind you, bro,” Sans said as Papyrus started up the stairs. “I woke up too early this morning. Better get a few extra hours tonight to make up for it,” he winked. “See you tomorrow afternoon.”  
     After he went up the stairs, Frisk turned to Toriel. “You didn’t have to wait up for us, Mom. You too, Undyne,” she said.  
     Undyne stood up and joined the two of them by the staircase. She shrugged. “Just wanted to make sure everybody made it back okay.”  
     “Agreed,” Toriel said. “What all did you three get into?”  
     “Well, first we got some coffee and tea. Then we walked to this monsters-only club that Sans likes to go to. At first I was a little afraid to go in, and when I did, I got a lot of strange looks. But then everyone ended up lightening up. I played some pool, read an interesting article about a country singer, and had some spider cider!”  
     Toriel smiled. “It sounds like you had a lot of fun,” she said.  
     “I really did! Undyne, you _have_ to come with us next time! Alphys, too.” Frisk looked around the room. “Where is Alphys, anyway?”  
     “Already in bed,” Toriel answered.  
     “Now that everyone is home, I think I’ll head that way, too,” Undyne said.  
     “Me too,” Toriel said. She looked at Asgore. “I wonder if I should wake him. He’s sound asleep right where he’s at,” she smiled.  
     “I’m sure old Fluffybuns wouldn’t mind if you woke him up. Not if it’s only so he can go right back to sleep,” Undyne pointed out. “Good night, guys.”  
     “Good night,” Frisk and Toriel replied in unison.  
     “I’m going to get some sleep too,” Frisk said. “It’s been an… eventful evening,” she added with a slight smile, remembering her encounter with Jasik.  
     “Sleep well, my child,” Toriel said, kissing Frisk on the top of the head.  
     Frisk walked upstairs to her room and closed the door so she could put pajamas on. She left the door closed as she always did when she slept, because Asgore tended to wake up earlier than everyone else, and he unintentionally made a lot of noise and turned on almost every upstairs light.  
     Just as Frisk sat down on her bed, someone knocked on the door. She answered, and saw that it was Sans.  
     “Hey. Come in,” she said.  
     “Sorry to bother you while you’re getting ready for bed. I’ll only be a minute,” he said, sticking his hands into his pockets and making his way to the center of the room.  
     “Don’t worry about it,” Frisk shrugged. “What’s up?”  
     “I wanted to ask you… why were you so freaked out about going into the club? What did you think was inside?”  
     Frisk didn’t want to tell him the truth. As terrible as she knew that was, she knew that telling him she was suspecting to see the attackers meant that she would have to tell him about Asriel. She had decided that she wasn’t ready to do that.  
     “You know, I don’t even know. I’m sorry I was acting so weird. I’m just… not exactly sure what came over me,” she said, sitting down on her bed again.  
     “Listen, Frisk… if you think for a second that I would ever put you in harm’s way…”  
     “I know, Sans,” she said, the twinge of guilt evident in her tone. “I know. I’m… I’m sorry.”  
     “It’s alright,” he said, taking a seat beside her. “But I want to make one thing remotely clear, okay?” He paused until Frisk gave him confirmation that he could continue. “I’ve always looked out for you. I’ve always protected you. And I always will. Trust that.”  
     “Thank you, Sans.” Frisk gave an earnest, apologetic smile, then leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  
     Sans nodded, then got up and walked into the hallway, shutting the door behind him.  
     “G’night, kid.”


	10. Chapter 9

     When Frisk woke up the next morning she was still reeling from the previous evening’s excitement. She wore a smile all throughout breakfast, and even while she was helping everyone clean up the kitchen.  
     While it’s never a bad thing to see anyone smile, Asgore thought it odd that Frisk seemed to almost be in some sort of smiley trance that she couldn’t snap out of. To test her will to smile, he read some obituaries from the newspaper to her as she sat on the couch. Nothing happened.  
     Later in the afternoon, Frisk decided to join Undyne in the gym. She definitely didn’t work out as frequently or with an much intensity as Undyne, but a good workout every now and then kept her healthy and made her feel good.  
     When she got downstairs to the gym, she saw that Undyne was running on one of the three treadmills. Frisk threw her hair up into a messy pony-tail and hopped onto the one beside her and started off with a brisk walk.  
     Undyne barely noticed her arrival, due to the loud music blaring through her headphones. But when she did catch the movement out of the corner of her eye, she looked over at Frisk and nodded as a means of greeting her.  
     Frisk nodded back and cranked up the treadmill to a comfortable jogging speed. She knew she couldn’t keep pace with Undyne, but she did her best to at least get herself moving.  
     After, according to the treadmill, 25 additional minutes, Undyne slowed to Frisk’s jogging pace. Then after a few more minutes, reduced her speed to a power walk. She eventually turned the treadmill down to a normal walk, then turned it off entirely. Frisk did the same.  
     “Good job,” Undyne said, grabbing two towels from a nearby shelf. She draped one around the back of her neck, then tossed the other to Frisk. She took her headphones out.  
     “Thanks,” Frisk said, patting her face with the towel. “You too. You’re a machine.”  
     Undyne shrugged and picked up a bottle of water that she had set on the floor. She took a couple big gulps, then pointed to a mini fridge in one of the corners of the room. “Make sure to drink something,” she advised.  
     Frisk walked over to the fridge and got out an unopened bottle of water. She took a swig, then looked around the room. “What’s next?”  
     “Gotta give the legs a little break now,” Undyne answered. “How about some chin-ups?” She suggested, pointing to some free standing bars. There were three of them, all at different heights.  
     Frisk looked at the bars and gulped. She wasn’t exactly built for exercises requiring arm strength. So much so that Sans would sometimes refer to her as Noodle Arms.  
     “Sure,” she replied hesitantly.   
     The two of them made their way over to the bars. Undyne wiped her hands off and shook her arms around a little bit. She jumped up and grabbed on to the tallest bar, and hesitated a little bit on her first try. But she soon got into a rhythm. Frisk struggled to do more than two chin-ups at a time.  
     “S-s-s-so,” Frisk stammered, as she tried to pull herself up. She cringed, not expecting it to take so much effort to talk and do a chin-up at the same time. “I met… a boy last night.”  
     “What?” Shocked, Undyne’s grip on the bar faltered and she let go, falling to the ground. “Oof!”  
     “Oh my gosh!” Frisk gasped, hopping off of the bar herself. “Are you okay?”  
     “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Undyne grunted, placing a hand on her lower back. She stood up and stretched. “Met a boy, huh?”  
     “I probably made that sound a lot worse than it is,” Frisk blushed. “I didn’t meet him at the club or anything. He’s human. We had met before, too. I mean…” she sighed.  
     “Why don’t you start over,” Undyne said, doing some more stretches for her back.  
     “Okay,” Frisk agreed. “We first ran into each other when I went to the city to mail the letter. He saw me struggling with the hatch of the mail barrel and opened it for me. Then last night he bumped into me when I was waiting outside for Sans and Papyrus to get our coffee. He apologized, then we talked for a while then… we exchanged phone numbers.”  
     Undyne cracked a small smile. “Exchanged phone numbers, huh?”  
     “Yeah, then he said he would text me in a couple of days.”  
     “A couple of days, huh?”  
     “Stop that!” Frisk laughed, pushing Undyne’s arm. Undyne didn’t budge. “But yeah,” she confirmed.  
     Undyne chuckled. “Well good for you.” She sat down on a weight lifting bench and patted the seat, inviting Frisk to sit down beside her. “Tell me all about him.”   
     Frisk took the seat and tightened her pony-tail. “Let’s see…” she began. “His name’s Jasik, he’s tall, has brown hair that’s not short, but not long either, looks like he takes care of himself pretty well, seems very polite…”  
     “Polite. Good, maybe then I won’t have to beat him up,” Undyne joked. “What did Sans and Papyrus think of him?”  
     “Oh, they didn’t get to see him. By the time they came out of the coffee shop Jasik had already left.”  
     “Too bad,” Undyne said. “I would have loved to hear what they had to say about him.”  
     Frisk gave a breath of laughter, then the two of them were quiet for a couple moments.  
     “So when are you and Papyrus going on your date?” she asked.  
     “I’m not so sure it’s a…” She paused. “I’m not sure yet,” Undyne answered. “I’ll have to remember to talk to him about that today. When do you want to have our hiking day?”  
     “Good question,” Frisk said. She thought for a second. “We should go on whatever day you and Papyrus go to the city. Then after we get home from hiking and get cleaned up, I can help you get ready!”  
     “Are you saying I’m going to _need_ help getting ready?”  
     “I, uh, I, um, didn’t mean it like…” Frisk stammered.  
     Undyne laughed. “It’s okay, I know what you meant. I’m just messing with you.” She took a swig of her water. “That sounds good,” she smiled.  
     Frisk smiled in return. “Great,” she said. “Just let me know what day, okay?”  
     “Sure thing, kiddo.”   
     “I’m going back upstairs. I’ve gotten enough exercise for one day,” Frisk said, rubbing her own throbbing arms. “Do you want me to bring you an ice pack for your back?”  
     “No, thanks, I’ll be just fine,” Undyne answered. “I’ll be done here shortly. See you in a little bit.”  
     Frisk showed herself to the door, and Undyne resumed her workout. Frisk headed to the top floor of the house to get cleaned up.   
     She walked out into the hallway after her shower. She was wearing jeans and a sweater, but her hair was still wrapped in a towel.  
     Alphys had been walking by as Frisk stepped into the hall, startling her so badly that she nearly backed into the wall.  
     “Frisk!” she said. “Sorry, that tower on your head scared me a little.”  
     Frisk laughed. “Yeah, my hair takes forever to dry.”  
     “Anyway, I’m pretty sure I fixed the toaster. It should operate as initially intended now. Give it a try, if you want,” Alphys said.  
     “Oh, sweet. Thanks!”  
     Frisk made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. She put a piece of bread into the toaster, hesitantly set it to the highest setting, and pushed the knob down. She got a jar of peanut butter out of the pantry and a dull knife out if a nearby drawer.  
     A few minutes had gone by, and the bread was still in the toaster. The kitchen was starting to smell funny. Seconds later, Asgore walked in.  
     “Is something burning?” he asked, sniffing the air.  
     “Oh, probably,” Frisk answered. “Alphys told me she fixed the toaster for real this time. And since I jogged for 25 minutes,” she went on, with fake arrogance, “I think I deserve a piece of peanut butter toast.”  
     Asgore chuckled. “I’d say you do, too.”  
     “Do you want a piece?”  
     “No, thank you.”   
     “How about a glass of milk?” Frisk asked him. She got two tall glasses out of a cupboard and set them on the counter.   
     “That would be nice,” Asgore smiled. “Is Alphys sure the toaster is functional now? Something doesn’t seem right,” he added, noting that the toast had still not popped out.  
     Frisk retrieved one of the gallons of milk from the fridge and poured some in each of the glasses. “She says it’s fine,” she shrugged. “I’m sure she knew what she was doing. She’s very smart.” Frisk said, walking over and handing Asgore his glass.  
     “That she is,” Asgore agreed, nodding and raising his glass. Frisk did the same, and they both took a big sip.  
     “Hey, Dad.”  
     It had been almost a full year since Frisk had first referred to Asgore as her dad. Even so, it still seemed to catch him off guard. In a good way, of course. Being a father was something he had been very proud of, and he was honored that Frisk let him reprise his role as Dad.   
     “Yes?” he responded.  
     “Do you ever… wish things were different?”  
     “Different? Of course not,” he answered. He paused. “Why? Do you?”  
     “No, no!” Frisk said. “Not at all. Everything is great just the way it is. I guess I was just… I don’t know. I’m not really sure what I was trying to say,” she said, forcing a small chuckle.  
     Asgore took another drink of milk and took a seat on a stool by the island. “You know something, Frisk,” he began, “I think that in the lives of all people there is something that they wish they could change somehow. Everyone you see, everyone you pass by on the street or at school, they all long for something that could have been.  
     “But, at some point, after some time, they have to accept that life is the way it is. Because once you accept it, then you are free to start enjoying it to the fullest. So… no, I don’t wish things were different. I accepted this life very quickly, and I enjoy every second of it.  
     “Do not get me wrong, Frisk, I miss my son very much. To have him here with us would add an incredible dynamic to this family. He would _complete_ the family. But on the other hand, I would never want what we have right now to be altered. We have a good thing going here. Wouldn’t you agree?”  
     Frisk nodded. “Yes, definitely,” she said. “And… I understand. I really do. That was pretty well said, Dad.”  
     Before either of them could say anything else, the toast finally popped up. It was as black and burnt as could be, but this time, smoke didn’t fill the room.  
     Frisk walked over and very carefully transferred the toast from the toaster to a napkin. She gathered some peanut butter on the knife, but as soon as she pressed the knife against the toast, it completely crumbled.   
     She narrowed her eyes, then put the napkin of crumbs on her hand. She turned around to show Asgore what had happened.  
     At first, he only chuckled. But when he saw Frisk’s unamused facial expression, he boomed with laughter.   
     “I’m sorry, Frisk,” he said once he had stopped laughing. He sighed and wiped a small tear out of his eye. “But that was funny.”  
     “It was pretty funny,” she agreed, allowing herself to smile. She threw the napkin and crumbs away, ate the peanut butter off of the knife, then threw the knife in the sink. She finished off her milk, then put the glass in the sink as well.  
     “I’m going to go take my hair out of this towel now,” she said. “You’re really great, Dad. I hope you know that.”  
     Asgore smiled and shrugged. “Well, thank you for saying that.”  
     On her way back up the stairs, Frisk realized that she now needed to bring Asriel back more than ever.

~~~

     After dinner that evening, Frisk resisted the urge to laze around in the living room with everyone else, and elected to instead go to her office and resume work on her radio station project.  
     She opened one of the desk drawers and got out the composition book that she had designated for this project. She opened the book and her shoulders slumped at the sight of the minimal amount of progress that she had made.   
     “Let’s just pick a starting point, and go. Let’s just go,” she said to herself. “First and foremost, finances.”  
     To be frank, the Dreemurrs were loaded. After all, they were royalty. When they officially moved to the surface, they brought along most everything they owned, including their material possessions, finer things, jewels, and Underground currency. They traded what they could for American dollars, and even after custom building their house, paying the atrocious bills every month, and funding every day life, they still had enough to be comfortable for a very long time.  
     In addition, Frisk generated some income for being the Ambassador. Not as much as most public officials, though, seeing as how she didn’t technically work for anyone in particular. But even so, she divided up what she did make, and would do three things with it.  
     What she didn’t pocket as her actual income, she would use to fund future projects, and she would also give back to the monster community. It was important to her that she did everything she could to support the monsters.  
     “Funding… should be taken care of, to an extent,” she said to herself, quickly crunching some numbers in her head.  
     There was a knock at the door. Frisk stood up and stretched, then went to answer it.  
     She flung the door open. “Oh hey, Mom. Come on in.” She stepped to the side and motioned for Toriel to have a seat.   
     “I won’t be more than a minute,” she said. “I just have something that I want to give you.”  
     “What is it?”  
     Toriel reached into the pocket of her robe and retrieved a small necklace. She held it in her hand and reached out to show it to Frisk.  
     “Is that…”  
     “Asriel’s heart locket. I would like for you to have it.”  
     “But Mom, I… are you sure?  
     “I am positive.” She carefully handed the locket over to Frisk.  
     Frisk took a few moments to examine the necklace. It was secured on a thin, sturdy, gold chain, and the locket itself was also gold, and in the shape of a little heart. It appeared as if it could in fact open, but only something very small would be able to fit inside. She flipped it over, and a capital A was engraved on the back.  
     “We had these matching lockets made for both Asriel and Chara,” Toriel explained. “Whatever became of Chara’s, I have no clue. But I’ve held onto this one… I’ve held onto it for as long as I could. I really think you should have it now.”  
     “Mom… thank you,” Frisk said. “Would you put it on for me?”  
     “Of course, my child,” Toriel smiled.   
     Frisk gathered her hair together and held it up so Toriel could secure the locket around her neck. After Toriel had done so, Frisk turned around and showed her.  
     “It looks wonderful,” Toriel said.  
     “Thank you,” Frisk smiled. “It really means a lot that you would give this to me. I’ll never take it off.” She reached out and gave Toriel a hug.  
     “Are you busy? Or would you like to join us downstairs? Sans has picked out tonight’s movie.”  
     Frisk looked at her desk, then back to Toriel. “Yeah, I’ll go! If Sans picked the movie, it has to be good.”

~~~

     The movie was not good. It was about a preppy city guy who, by some twist of fate, ended up being a camp counselor at a backwoods summer camp in West Virginia. Even Sans regretted making the commitment to watch it.  
     Most everyone checked out before the movie even ended. Papyrus was the only one still fully invested in the film, and Undyne stayed up with him to continue watching.  
     Frisk quickly fell asleep. She had been having an odd dream about what it would be like if her and Alphys were a crimefighting duo, but it was interrupted by a now familiar scene.  
     “Hey, Asriel. What’s up?” she called casually. She went from laying down to sitting indian-style.  
     “Oh, not much,” he said before he materialized. When he did appear, he was sitting down beside her. “Just thought I would check in.”  
    “Aw, crap,” Frisk muttered, putting a hand on her forehead. “This is terrible, but, I keep forgetting about the attack. I haven’t come up with any ideas.”  
     “That’s okay,” Asriel reassured her. “We still have some time.” He paused. “All I know is… we can’t fight them. We shouldn’t, I mean. Frisk, you’ve prided yourself on your pacifism. We need to keep that going.”  
     “I agree,” she said. “We need to figure out a way to talk them off of the ledge. Convince them to change their minds.”  
     “And… your joint research efforts with Dr. Alphys?” Asriel asked hesitantly.  
     Frisk sighed and ran her hands through her hair. “Dead end so far. Alphys said that she can’t create an artificial soul.” She scoffed. “I don’t know why I even asked her that. That was dumb.”  
     “Oh, no it wasn’t,” Asriel said. “An artificial soul… it was a nice thought. Thank you for trying.”  
     “I’m not going to give up, you know,” she said. “I’m not giving up on this. I just have to switch my focus, that’s all. Instead of finding you a generic soul, we’ll just have to find your own.”  
     Asriel shook his head. “I commend your determination, I really do. Determination may be all I have, but it’s still not as strong as yours. I wish… that I had what you have.”  
     Frisk reached over and tried to place a hand on his arm. Her hand phased right through him. Embarrassed, she fidgeted around a bit.  
     She cleared her throat and continued. “You will. One day, you will. I promise you that.”  
     He looked at her and smiled, but then he furrowed his brow. “What’s that you have on?  
     “My sweater?” she guessed. “I almost always have this on.”  
     “No, that necklace.” He squinted. “That’s… my locket.”  
     Frisk blushed. “Oh, yeah, uh, Mom gave it to me. Just today, actually,” she said. “She told me that she had held onto it for a long time, but she thought that it was time that I have it. Is… that okay?”  
     Asriel didn’t say anything. Instead, he leaned in closer. Cautiously, he reached out and touched the locket.  
     Frisk jerked awake, sitting herself up, breathing extremely heavily. She put her hands on her forehead.  
     “Oh, gosh,” she mumbled.  
     She stumbled out of bed and headed across the room to retrieve a bottle of water she had placed on a small table earlier. But on the way, she began feeling exceedingly lightheaded. Before she knew it, she had passed out, right there in the middle of the room.

~~~

     In the morning, she woke up as usual, although alarmed by the events that had just occurred. Slowly, she stood to her feet, steadying herself on the nearest solid object.  
     “Okay. I’m okay,” she muttered to herself. “Something… something happened when Asriel touched the locket.”  
     She felt around to make sure that the locket was still there. It was, and she breathed a sigh of relief.  
      _‘Wait a minute,’_ she thought. _‘If this locket is Asriel’s…’_   
     Frisk rushed over to the small table where she had set her water. She totally disregarded the bottle, and instead opened a small jewelry box. She dug around until she found a locket almost identical to Asriel’s.  
      _‘This one that I found in the castle must be Chara’s…’_  
     Generally disturbed by the thought, she dropped the locket as if it had burned her hands. She put her hands up and took a few steps backwards. She started at the necklace for a moment, then nudged it with her foot. She took a tissue from the box on her bedside table and used it to pick up the locket without touching it.  
     She tossed it back into the jewelry box and shut it tightly. Shivers ran up and down her spine.  
     “Okay, Frisk, play it cool. Just… go about your day. Everything is fine,” she reassured herself. “Everything is fine.”

~~~

     After lunch, the whole gang went for a walk. Even Sans, who is usually pretty reluctant to move. They walked to the base of the mountains, up a small incline, then back down to the other side. This, of course, was the easiest way to get to the other side of the mountain  
     Despite a small hill here and there, the other side of the mountain was mostly flat. A dirt road was visible, although it was a good distance away. It appeared to be very seldom travelled, although the faint outline of tire tracks could be seen.  
     The wind began to pick up, tossing some loose dirt around. Alphys shivered and wrapped her lab coat around herself even tighter.  
     “That certainly came out of nowhere,” Toriel said.  
     Asgore looked to the sky. “Those look like snow clouds,” he commented.   
     “Snow!” Papyrus and Alphys exclaimed at the same time. Only Papyrus sounded genuinely enthused.  
     “You don’t sound too thrilled, there, Alphys,” Frisk laughed.  
     “I hate the snow,” she said. “I hate the cold. Why do you think the lab was in Hotland?”  
     “Because that’s where it’s always been?” Sans guessed.  
     “We should get back to the house,” Undyne said, rubbing her own arms to keep warm. Papyrus walked over to her and placed his scarf around her neck.  
     Frisk scoffed. “I can’t believe you two don’t like the cold and snow. Personally, I find it invigorating and refreshing.”  
     “It doesn’t bother me any,” Asgore said. “But, I am pretty well insulated,” he laughed. He held out his arm, and Toriel linked her arm with his. “Let’s go, everyone.”  
     Just as everyone returned to the side of the mountain where the house was located, it started spitting snow. It was by no means a blizzard, although Alphys’ reaction would lead one to believe so, but simply a nice, gentle snowfall. It set a very tranquil, peaceful scene.  
     “Who all wants hot cocoa?” Frisk asked once they had reached the patio. She breathed some warm air into her hands and opened the screen door.   
     “Me! Piping hot, please,” Alphys said, rushing inside. She immediately started scouring the living room for a blanket.  
     “I wouldn’t mind a mug,” Sans shrugged.  
     “How about you two?” Frisk asked as Undyne and Papyrus walked through the door.  
     “Absolutely!” Undyne answered.  
     “Count me in,” Papyrus added.  
     Frisk nodded. “Mom? Dad?”  
     “Yes, my child, thank you,” Toriel answered. “Keep it nice and warm for us, though, please. I think we’ll stay out here for a short while longer.”  
     “Sure thing,” Frisk replied.   
     Frisk was the last inside, and she shut the screen door behind her. She made her way to the kitchen and got a huge pot out of one of the cupboards and placed it on the stove. She filled it with milk, then turned the heat on. While the milk was heating up, she grabbed several mugs from another cupboard and a few handfuls of packets of cocoa from a jar on the counter.  
     She mixed up a mug of cocoa for everyone, then for herself. She walked into the living room holding her own drink, then let everyone know that all of their respective drinks were ready.  
     They all made their way to the kitchen to claim their cocoa, and Frisk strolled over to the screen door and glanced outside. It was still snowing lightly, and Toriel and Asgore were leaning up against the railing looking out towards the mountains, still arm in arm.  
     Toriel rested her head on Asgore’s shoulder, and he kissed her on the top of her head before leaning his head up against hers.  
     Frisk smiled warmly and took a sip of her cocoa.

~~~

     Later in the evening, normal activity among the housemates resumed. Sans sprawled out on one of the couches, but he still took up only about two-thirds of it. Undyne sat uncomfortably in the remaining space.  
     Alphys had set up a card table in a corner of the room, and her, Toriel, Asgore and Papyrus sat there putting a large puzzle together. Frisk took this opportunity to sit in Asgore’s recliner. After some time, however, she got up and headed for the kitchen. When Frisk got up, Undyne followed suit.  
     “Hey, want some orange juice?” Frisk asked once they had both entered the kitchen.  
     “Sure, why not.”  
     Frisk poured them each a glass.  
     "Thanks,” Undyne said. “So anyway, earlier today I asked Papyrus about our, uh, date.”  
     “Oh yeah? And?”  
     “He asked of tomorrow night would be alright, and I said sure,” she said, her smile showing only a portion of her excitement. “So do you want to do our girl’s day tomorrow? Hike the mountain and all that?”  
     “Yeah, sounds good!” Just then, Frisk’s phone buzzed and made a series of cute chirping noises. She furrowed her brow and got the phone out of her pocket to check. It was a text from Jasik. A smile spread across her face.  
     “Who’s that?” Undyne smirked.  
     Frisk blushed. “Oh, uh, you know.”  
     “Jasik, right? That’s his name?”  
     “Yeah,” she said.  
     “What did he say?” Undyne asked, wiggling her eyebrows up and down.  
     “Just ‘hello’,” she said. “This is the first I’ve heard from him.”  
     “Alright, well don’t stay up too late flirting, okay? If we want to get a good start tomorrow, we’re going to have to be up before the sun.”  
     “Wait, what now?”  
     “Dark and early,” Undyne said with a wink.  
     Frisk sighed. “Dark and early.”


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A too-close-for-comfort encounter with an old friend.

     Frisk had been afraid to fall asleep that night. She was afraid of seeing Asriel, afraid that he would be angry about the locket. Afraid that whatever had happened the night before would happen again. Fortunately for her, she didn’t encounter him. When she woke, she was both relieved, and uneasy.   
     She dressed for hiking, grabbed her hiking backpack and trotted downstairs to meet Undyne. She turned into the kitchen and found that Undyne had already packed their lunches and set their lunch bags on the counter.   
     “Dark and early, right on time!” Undyne said as she strode into the kitchen from the living room. She had her backpack in one hand and a granola bar in the other. She wore a turtleneck and a light jacket, and had her jeans tucked into a pair of hiking boots.  
     Frisk grunted in response. She opened the fridge and got out five bottles of water, clumsily setting them down on the counter beside their lunches. She sighed. “I’m excited, I promise. I just need to let my brain catch up with the rest of my body.”  
     “I gotcha,” Undyne said. She walked to the counter and helped pack the lunches and the water into the backpacks. “I have a small First Aid kit in my backpack. Some trail mix, too.”  
     “Yes! Trail mix is the best,” Frisk said, perking up a little.  
     Undyne hiked her backpack up onto her shoulders. “Ready? Or do you want a quick cup of coffee or something before we go?”  
     “Nope, I’m ready,” Frisk said.   
     The two of them exited through the screen door onto the patio. The cold air caught both of them off guard. They both huffed out some air, and found that their breath was visible.   
     Undyne reached into an outside pocket of her backpack and grabbed a lightweight mask, which she put on around her neck and pulled up over her mouth.   
     “Whoa, Undyne. Look up,” Frisk said.  
     The sky was absolutely stunning. At one end, it was still dark, embellished by countless stars, shining brilliantly when not competing with city lights. The other end of the sky had the faintest glow of a sunrise. A lavender color swept across the eastern most portion of the sky.  
     “Beautiful, huh?” Undyne said, her voice slightly muffled by her mask. She took in the view for a few moments then stepped off of the patio. “Watch your step, there’s still snow on the ground. Might be a little slippery.”  
     Frisk nodded then hopped down as well, letting Undyne lead the way to the base of the mountain.   
     They reached the base, then walked up a small incline leading to a little plateau. Beyond this point was the easy way, the way everyone took on their walk the day before, or the hard way, the actual mountain.  
     There wasn’t a clear cut path up the mountain, but it also wasn’t uncharted territory, either. Just right for a fun challenge.  
     Undyne took the first few steps up the mountain, readjusted her footing, then looked back at Frisk. “Definitely slippery. Just be careful, and let me know how you’re holding up, okay?”  
     “Yes ma’am,” Frisk said with a salute. “These boots should hold me up fairly well.”  
     The two of them made it up the initial rocky hill, then had about half an hour of smooth hiking. They got to another steep slope, decorated with rocks of all sizes, from pebbles to boulders.  
     Undyne charged her way up, secured herself behind a large rock, then turned around and held her hand out to help Frisk up. They went by this system until they reached the next plateau.  
     Once on flat ground again, they almost immediately turned a sharp corner. Around the corner, there was a large pile of fallen rocks blocking their way. Undyne stopped, then turned around to see how Frisk was doing.  
     Frisk was only a couple steps behind, but she did seem winded from the climb they just took. She caught up to Undyne, then hunched over a little bit, placing her hands on her knees.   
     “Do you want to try hiking around this, or over this?” Undyne asked. “Or do you want some trail mix and a break while I take care of it?”  
     “Some trail mix would be great,” Frisk answered. She took her backpack off and leaned up against the wall of rock to her right.  
     “Here,” Undyne said, tossing her backpack to Frisk. “Root around until you find it then help yourself. Drink some water, too.”  
     Undyne turned back to the blockage and cracked her knuckles. She held her hand out, fingers pointing towards the pile, and concentrated. She clenched her fists, and stomped her foot.  
     The ground directly below the rock pile began to glow a very familiar shade of blue, then suddenly a wall of spears burst from the ground, shattering the rocks into pieces.   
     Undyne smirked and brushed her hands together. She turned around again, and found that Frisk was wide-eyed, right in the middle of a huge swig of water. “You okay?” she giggled.  
     Frisk swallowed her water. “Yeah, fine,” she said, wiping the corners of her mouth. “I just didn’t expect for that to be so quick. I thought you might handle that a different way. Like, moving the rocks one by one or something.”  
     “Oh, sorry,” Undyne said. “Guess I don’t know my own strength. We can still take a break, though.”  
     Frisk laughed. “I’m pretty sure you’re aware of your own strength,” she said. “That's why I thought you’d, oh, I don’t know. Suplex all of the boulders. You know, just because you can.”  
     The slightest blush came to Undyne’s cheeks, and she put a hand behind her head. “Oh gosh, please don’t remind me of how ridiculous I was.”  
     Frisk smirked. “You were totally showing off back then, weren’t you? Trying to impress me or something?”  
     “Alright, that’s enough,” Undyne said, her face so warm with blush that she pulled her mask down. But she smiled. “I was trying to _intimidate_ you. Now eat your dang trail mix.”  
     After a small break, the hike resumed. They were fortunate enough to be on a stretch of particularly flat ground. They hiked in silence for a while, Undyne a few steps ahead.  
     As Frisk comfortably ambled behind, her ears began to ring. She took a drink of water and shook it off, assuming it was the change in elevation. But soon after, the ringing intensified, and her vision became blurry. She stopped walking and placed a hand on her head.   
     “H-hey…” she muttered.  
     “Hm?” Undyne looked back at her. “Whoa, hey, you okay?”  
     In addition to the ringing and blurry vision, an intense pain began resonating throughout her entire body. It wasn’t traceable, or centered to one specific area, as a headache or a broken bone is. This odd pain she was feeling was coming from everywhere at once.  
     “Frisk?”  
     “No... I,” Frisk struggled, placing her other hand on her head and stumbling around a bit. “Gah... hah hah…” She staggered some more, then fell to her knees.  
     “Frisk! Hey!” Undyne said, rushing over to her. “What’s going on?”  
     Frisk grabbed Undyne’s ankle. “Hah…” Her grip tightened and she gritted her teeth.  
     Undyne knelt down beside her. “Hey. _Hey!_ Talk to me, okay? What’s wrong?”  
     Frisk felt herself beginning to lose consciousness, and tried fighting it as hard as she was currently able to. She began to shake.  
     Undyne let her backpack fall off of her shoulders and grabbed Frisk’s arms to try and stop the shaking. She tried to remain as calm as she could. “Shhh... shhhh… Frisk... come on.”  
     “Nnn... ngah…” Frisk grunted through gritted teeth. Her eyes were shut so tightly that they were watering. She did manage to open them, but when she did, her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she passed out.  
     “Oh no, oh no, oh no!” Undyne said. “Frisk, hey... come on now. Frisk!”   
     She dug the First Aid kit out of her backpack and quickly retrieved the instant cold compress. She placed it on Frisk's forehead. Just then, it started to snow.  
     “Damn it…” she growled. “Okay... okay Undyne, stay calm. Stay. Calm.” She put her backpack back on and picked Frisk up and held her in both arms bridal style. She took off running back the way they came.  
     “Hold on, Frisk,” she said. “Just hold on…”

  
~~~

     Meanwhile, Frisk opened her eyes to the dark space that had become so familiar to her. She easily stood to her feet, and put her hand on her forehead.  
     “What the hell, Asriel? That really hurt!”   
     An odd laughter filled the room.  
     “Oh man! ‘Asriel’, huh? Good one!”  
     Right before Frisk's eyes, a child appeared. She wore a green and yellow striped shirt, brown shorts, and a horrifying, distorted facial expression. Only tall enough to have the top of her head reach Frisk’s chest, she looked up, and her laughter ceased.  
     “Don’t make me laugh.”  
     Frisk was so startled that as she jumped backwards, she fell onto her behind. She used her hands and feet to scoot back.  
     “Let me make something clear right off the bat. That loser always came in peace. I come in pain.”  
     “Ch-Chara…?”  
     “Bingo,” she confirmed with a wicked smile. She willed her facial features to return to normal. “You're smarter than you look.” She walked over to Frisk and held her hand out.  
     “Do not touch me,” Frisk said  
     “Come on, you big wimp. I’m just trying to help you up.”  
     Frisk cautiously held out her hand, then recoiled it. She thought for a few seconds, then took Chara’s hand, and let Chara pull her up. She furrowed her brow. How was she able to take hold of Chara, but not Asriel?  
     “What... what do you want from me? What are you doing here?”  
     “So you want to cut right to the chase, huh?” Chara said. “Don’t you want to get to know each other first?”  
     “I already know everything I need to know about you…”  
     Chara cocked her head and furrowed her brow. “Really? That’s interesting.” She began to pace back and forth. “Because I don’t know a whole lot about you. Other than, of course, your role in this whole deal,” she said, motioning around to the emptiness. “Their freedom, I mean,” she clarified.  
     “Yes, I... I had something to do with that. What about it?”  
     Chara crossed her arms. “I just commend your bravery and courage to do the right thing,” she said with more than a hint of sarcasm.  
     When Frisk first found out the truth about Chara, and about what had happened, she had her own perception of Chara. She had tried to picture her, and imagine her demeanor. This Chara was not what she had pictured at all.  
     This Chara, while similar to how Frisk pictured her physically, was almost the polar opposite in terms of the way she carried herself. Frisk imagined her being the embodiment of pure evil. Violently angry, in a constant rage, loud and destructive. But instead, Chara spoke softly and with confidence. She was calm, smooth, sly and cunning. This terrified Frisk all the more.  
     “And while I hate to burst your happy little bubble,” Chara said, “not everything is peaches and cream.” She stopped pacing and turned to Frisk. “There are humans planning an attack against the monsters.”  
     Frisk’s eyes widened and she took a step backwards.  
     “Y-you’re lying.”  
     “No, I’m not.”  
     Frisk was still so frightened that she could only speak in small sentences. She quickly searched her brain for the right words to say.  
     “That can’t be. I don’t believe you.”  
     “Oh, but it is,” Chara said. “They even have a cute little club. And guess where they meet.” She gave Frisk a few seconds to answer before continuing. “Right in the humble city of Cheyenne, Wyoming.”  
     “Sh-shut up… you’re lying.”  
     “Now Frisk, why would I ever lie to you?”  
     “Are you kidding?” Frisk exclaimed. “Why would you lie to me? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re trying to ruin everything. Just like you did all those years ago.”  
     “Whoa, hey now,” Chara said. “In my defense, it was not my initial intention for things to play out the way they did.”  
     “Oh wow, Chara, that changes everything. You’re such a saint,” Frisk said, getting increasingly agitated. Chara’s name sounded odd rolling off of Frisk’s lips, and felt just as strange. She paused to gather her thoughts, then continued. “I hate you, you know. I hate you for what you did to them.”  
     “Yeah, yeah,” Chara said. “Hate you too, pal. Now hear me out. When Asriel died, his soul disappeared, while I was released back into the world. All I did for years and years was float around aimlessly.  
     “Humans came and went, as you know, but there were none quite like you. When you fell, I tried getting to you. I tried throughout your whole journey, but your kindness was too strong. You grew so attached to everyone so quickly. Your absolute refusal to hurt anyone was impenetrable. And while it irritated me to no end, and still does, I have to admit that I respect it.  
     “When the Barrier was broken and the monsters came to the surface, so did I. I’ve been staying out of trouble, but not because I haven’t been trying, truthfully. I’m helpless without a body. Without a vessel, I’m just a scary dream. In this current state, I don’t even have enough power to materialize and spook the hell out of you in person.”  
     “Why are you telling me all of this?”  
     “Just trying to catch up with an old friend,” Chara smirked.  
     “I am not your friend,” Frisk growled. “Now get out of my head!” she yelled. She tried to wake herself up and purge Chara from her mind.

~~~

     Undyne had been running as fast as she could without losing her footing on the rocky mountainside. Snow had turned to freezing rain, and the beads of precipitation stung as they pelted her face, though they melted on impact.  
     Her breathing was getting heavy, but it was still well under control. She left puffs of her own breath behind as she ran.  
     Frisk did manage to regain consciousness ever so slightly, but she only woke up long enough to writhe and groan in pain.  
     Undyne felt Frisk moving around, and glanced down at her, and held onto her a little bit tighter.  
     “Hang in there, Frisk,” she huffed. “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay,” she reassured. “I’ve got you, Frisk. I’ve got you.”

~~~

     Frisk fell unconscious again, and her conversation with Chara picked up right where they left off.  
     “Nice try,” Chara said. “But I’m not done with you yet,” she added, distorting her face.  
     “What do you want from me?” Frisk yelled. “A vessel? Because the answer is no.”  
     Chara returned her face to normal and cleared her throat. “It’s not about what I want, Frisk. It’s about what you want.”  
     Frisk furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about?”  
     “You want to protect your friends and family, don’t you? You want to keep them happy? Safe from the impending attack? Then stop the humans. Attack them before they attack.” Chara’s face began to twist more and more out of shape as she went on. “Kill them before they kill.”  
     “You’re crazy,” Frisk said.  
     “Maybe so. But maybe not. Is that a risk you’re willing to take?”

~~~

     Undyne finally reached the base of the mountain, and when she hit the section of flat land between the mountain and the house, she took off into a full-on sprint.  
     She slowed when she reached the patio, and hopped right onto the deck, skipping the stairs entirely. She shifted Frisk around so that she could cradle her in one arm instead of both. She opened the screen door with such force that she almost tore it off of the track, then she burst into the living room.  
     Toriel, who had been in the kitchen, strode in to see what all the commotion was about. Once in the living room, she saw Undyne turned around closing the door much gentler than she had opened it.  
     “Undyne! Please, keep it down. The boys aren’t awake yet.”  
     Undyne turned around to face her, breathing heavily.   
     “Something’s… wrong… with Frisk,” she explained between gasps for air.  
     “What?” Toriel’s eyes widened and she rushed over to them. “What happened?” She placed a hand on Frisk’s forehead. “Here, here.” Toriel took Frisk’s backpack off of her then took her out of Undyne’s arms and into hers. She carried Frisk to the couch and gently set her down.  
     “I… I don’t know,” Undyne said. “We were hiking, and everything was fine. Then… she just… I don’t know.”  
     “Get Alphys,” Toriel instructed, kneeling down by the couch.  
     Undyne nodded and ran to an intercom system placed on the wall by the basement steps. The intercom had a button to call the gym, and a button to call the lab. She pressed and held the call button for the lab.  
     “Alphys! Living room!” She tried to make the sense of urgency evident in her voice without being too loud.  
     “Be right up,” she answered. When Alphys made it to the top of the stairs and turned into the living room, she was greeted by a concerned look from both Toriel and Undyne, who were surrounding the couch. “What’s… going on, you two?”  
     “It’s Frisk,” Toriel answered.  
     “What?” Alphys said. She joined Undyne and Toriel by the couch, and looked down at a still unconscious Frisk. “What’s wrong? What happened?”  
     “I don’t know,” Undyne said. “She collapsed while we were hiking.”  
     Toriel fixed Frisk’s hair, and turned the cold compress over to the other side.   
     “She is still breathing, that is a good sign,” Toriel observed. “What should we do, Alphys?”  
     “I... I don’t know… I’m not a medicinal doctor, I can’t…” Alphys thought for a few moments. “Try… uh… elevating her lower body. That might get some blood flowing back to her head.”  
     Toriel collected almost every pillow in the living room and brought them to the couch. Undyne lifted Frisk’s legs while Toriel set the pillows down, then propped them up onto the pillows.  
     “Undyne, get a clean, cold rag for her forehead. I will go inform Asgore and wake the brothers,” Toriel said. “Alphys, monitor her breathing.”  
     Toriel rushed up the stairs, and Undyne darted into the kitchen. Alphys knelt down and used her lab coat to dab away some beads of sweat that had made their way down Frisk’s face.

~~~

     “I’m not going to fight anyone. I’m not going to harm anyone. If that’s what you came here to convince me to do, then you’ve wasted your time,” Frisk said.  
     “You idiot,” Chara chuckled. “Haven’t you learned yet? In this world, it’s-”  
     “Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it all before,” Frisk interrupted. She had completely moved past frightened and intimidated, and had settled on angry. “But I will not kill, and I will not be killed. Nobody will.”  
     “Is that what you think? Do you really think that just because you’re trying to pass the peace pipe that these humans are going to call off their attack?”  
     “How do you even know about this, anyway?” Frisk asked. “Why have you been hanging around these parts? Don’t you have anything better to do?”  
     “Of course I don’t. I’m dead,” Chara scoffed. “And let’s just say that I have ties here. The fact that you and the Pacifist League live nearby is just an added bonus.”  
     “You stay away from us…” Frisk growled.  
     “Relax, fireball. Now that the Barrier is busted, I have no need for or interest in you lot. To you all, I’m a broken record, playing the same old song. It may or may not be comforting for you to know that Plan B does not involve your precious family.”  
     “Plan B?”  
     “Ah, ah, ah, let’s not get ahead of the game, now,” Chara said. “All in good time, Frisk, all in good time.” She paused. “Anyway, I was floating around Cheyenne the other night, following a particularly interesting specimen, when I happened to see you and those bone-clad buffoons strolling around. It made me think that perhaps I should pay you a visit and formally introduce myself.”  
     “You’re joking, right? You must not realize how stupid you sound, given the context of the situation,” Frisk said.  
     “Sounds like someone’s angry. Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt girl’s day with Big Sis,” Chara smirked.  
     “Do you honestly think that we’re supposed to be buddies or something?” Frisk asked harshly.  
     “Oh, of course not,” Chara answered. “But you know how the old saying goes. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”  
     “Why’d you tell me about the attack?”  
     Chara put her hands in the pockets of her shorts. “Just a fair warning,” she said. “I thought that you valued your family enough to do whatever it takes to protect them.” She breathed a heavy, artificial sigh. “But, you were right. I’ve wasted my time.”  
     “Is that all, then? Will you leave now? Or do I have to evict you myself?”  
     Chara laughed. “You do realize that would be much more painful for you than it would for me, right?” She paused. “I’ll skedaddle. But before I do, here’s a bit of advice. Give yourself a few more minutes before you wake yourself up. I put you through a lot of pain,” she added with a wink and an unsettling smile.  
     Chara faded from view. Frisk breathed a sigh relief and sat down, placing her head in her hands.  
     “Don’t let her get to you. Don’t listen to a word she said,” Frisk said to herself. “She’s just trying to pit you against others. She’s just trying to get you to hurt people.”  
     “But you’re above that,” she told herself. “You’re better than that. You know better. You know better.”

~~~

     It had been a little over an hour since Undyne brought Frisk back to the house. Everyone had since gathered in the living room, although they were all quiet, keeping a watchful eye on her.  
     Undyne sat at the end of the other couch, within arm’s reach of Frisk’s feet. She bounced her legs up and down nervously. After a while, she stood up and walked to the kitchen. Papyrus followed.  
     “Hey, are you okay?” he asked.  
     “I don’t know,” Undyne sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She opened the fridge and retrieved a couple bottles of water. She tossed one across the room to Papyrus.  
     “I’m worried about her too,” he said, catching the bottle with ease. “We all are.”  
     “I know that,” she said. “I just… I feel responsible for this. Or maybe irresponsible is the word I should be using.”  
     “Undyne, this is by no means your fault. She had some kind of medical episode. You had nothing to do with that,” Papyrus reassured her. He walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. “Listen, you did what you could. You acted quickly and got her back to the house. You did the right thing.”  
     Undyne thought for a moment. “I don’t think I want to go to the city tonight. I’m really sorry, Papyrus. I just… need to be here for her.”  
     “That’s perfectly fine,” he responded. “I completely understand. And, I agree. We all need to be here in case she needs us.”  
     “Thank you for understanding,” she smiled. “You’re very sweet.” She gave him a hug then made her way back to the living room.

~~~

     “When I woke myself up for half a second, I could tell that Undyne had a hold of me. We were moving. She must have brought me back to the house,” Frisk said to herself, still sitting alone in the depths of her mind. “And if I know my family at all, I can guess that they’re all sitting around waiting for me to come to.”  
     “I don’t know what in the world I’m going to tell them. They’re going to ask what happened. I can’t tell them about Chara.”  
     She stood up and walked around a little. “I need to think of something quick, then wake up. This is too weird.”  
     “I’ve got it! When I first started feeling funny I thought it was just the change in altitude. That’s what I’ll tell them. It was the change in altitude, and… a bad Charley Horse. Sure. Seems legit. Let’s get out of here.”  
     She sat back down and concentrated on regaining consciousness. It was harder than she anticipated. She struggled to reconnect herself with her body, but she kept trying.   
     Eventually, her eyes opened and with a gasp of air, she jerked awake, sitting up. She tried to look around the room, but her eyes hadn’t adjusted yet. She closed them again and shook her head.  
     “Undyne?” she said.  
     “Right here. I’m right here,” Undyne replied, rushing over and kneeling by the couch. She rested a hand on top of Frisk’s. Everyone else gathered around, too.  
     “I’m… on the couch?” Frisk guessed.  
     “Yeah, but which couch?” Sans joked. Papyrus elbowed him in the arm.  
     “Yes, my child, you are on the couch,” Toriel confirmed. “How are you feeling? Are you alright?”  
     “I… I think so.” Frisk tried to sit up a little straighter and prop herself against the arm of the couch. The dull residue of a bad headache still lingered. She brought her other hand to her forehead.  
     “Hey, take it easy,” Alphys advised. “Hang tight, I’ll go get you some water.”  
     “There’s some in my backpack,” she said.  
     Alphys nodded and rooted around in the backpack until she found a bottle of water, then handed it to Frisk.  
     “Thanks…” Frisk said. She took a few light sips of the water.   
     “What happened?” Asgore asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.  
     “I… I don’t know,” Frisk answered, looking down at her water bottle. She took her hand out from under Undyne’s and scratched the back of her head. She couldn’t look any of them in the eyes. She didn’t have it in her to look at them directly and withhold the truth from them.  
     “I started getting really lightheaded, then my vision got blurry,” she told them. Not technically a lie. “I figured it was the change in the elevation from being on the mountain. Then when I started stumbling, I got a really bad Charley Horse. I couldn’t even put pressure on my leg, it hurt so bad. Between that, and the lightheadedness… down I went.”  
     “Ouch…” Papyrus commented. “Just a guess, I mean. I’ve never had a Charley Horse. I have no muscles, therefore I cannot cramp.”  
     “Lucky you,” Undyne said. “You don’t want to know.”  
     “How do your legs feel now?” Asgore asked.  
     “Just sitting here they feel fine. Haven’t tried walking yet, though,” Frisk responded.  
     “Well, here. Let’s walk to the kitchen and get you a small snack,” Toriel suggested. “We will see how your legs feel, then you can relax for the rest of the day.”  
     Toriel held her arm out so Frisk could steady herself as she stood. Of course, Frisk’s legs were fine, so she put on a little show, hesitating to put pressure on her left leg, then cautiously bringing it to the ground.  
     “Feels okay,” Frisk said. “Thank goodness.” She forced an artificial chuckle.  
     The two of them, along with Undyne and Sans, walked slowly to the kitchen, while the others exhaled a collective sigh of relief and took their seats again.  
     “What would you like for a snack?” Undyne asked.  
     “Maybe just some crackers.”  
     “You’ll need something to raise your blood sugar so you don’t pass out again,” she said.  
     “Crackers with peanut butter and jelly on them?” Frisk suggested, allowing a small smile to come to her face.  
     “Coming right up,” Undyne said.  
     Toriel let Frisk walk to one of the barstools under her own power, then sat at one beside her. Sans took the one on her other side.  
     “You had us all pretty worried, kid,” he said.  
     Frisk furrowed her brow. “What, did you guys think I wasn’t going to wake up, or something?”  
     “Crazier things have happened,” he shrugged.  
     “Well thank you for the concern. That was very sweet of all of you. But I’m just fine,” she said, offering Sans a reassuring smile, then turning to do the same for Toriel.  
     Undyne made up an entire plateful of peanut butter and jelly crackers for all of them to munch on. She set the plate on the counter, and took one of the crackers for herself.  
     The four of them snacked in silence, then Sans helped Frisk back to the living room while Toriel went upstairs and Undyne went to her gym.  
     Frisk laid down on the couch, and Papyrus brought her a pillow and blanket. Sans sat down on the opposite end of the couch, picking up Frisk’s legs and setting them back down on his lap.  
     “Frisk, would you like me to activate the television?” Asgore asked her.  
     “Sure,” she answered. “Thank you, everyone. For taking care of me.”  
     She sighed and settled into the couch. Try as she might, she couldn’t get too comfortable, however. Not with a twinge of guilt already making it’s way up and down her spine.


	12. Chapter 11

     The whole gang took the opportunity to lounge around in the living room that day. With Frisk confined to the couch, nothing much went on.   
     The freezing rain had stopped, and everything outside just looked cold, damp and bleak. No one was complaining about being holed up in the house. Most everyone was curled up under a blanket, watching episode after episode of a home improvement show.  
     After what seemed like an unusually long time, Undyne finally came back to the ground floor from the gym. She vaguely acknowledged everyone before promptly taking the stairs to the second floor.   
     Frisk finally got off of the couch and rushed up the stairs to catch up with her. She reached the top of the stairs and saw Undyne turn into her room. Frisk followed.  
     “Hey, can I help you pick out something to wear tonight?” Frisk asked. She looked around. Undyne’s room was intriguing to her, somehow.  
     “We’re not going,” Undyne answered, taking her boots off and setting them at the foot of her bed, where all of her shoes were neatly arranged.  
     “What? Why? What happened?”  
     “Papyrus and I agreed that it would be a better idea to just stay here tonight. We can go another time.”  
     “Aw, come on!” Frisk protested. “Why won’t you go?”  
     “Because.”  
     “Undyne…”  
     “It was something we both agreed on.”  
     “Did you two have a fight or something?”  
     “No,” Undyne said. She got a clean pair of jeans and a sweater from one of her dresser drawers.  
     “What, then?” Frisk inquired. She stood in the doorway, blocking the exit. Every time Undyne would step to the side, so would she. This continued until Undyne got aggravated enough to turn around and walk back into her room.  
     “We just figured that we should stay here so we could be around if you needed something,” she admitted.  
     Frisk sighed and took a few steps into the room. “Undyne, I’m fine. I’ll be okay,” she reassured. “And even if I wasn’t, Mom would take more than good care of me. They all would.”  
     “I don’t doubt their ability to look after you,” Undyne clarified.  
     “Then please go tonight.”  
     “No, Frisk.”  
     “It’s okay, it really is! I promise I’ll be fine. You can go.”  
     “It’s already been decided.”  
     “Then un-decide it!” Frisk said. “Come on, Undyne. You and Papyrus really like each other, and you deserve to go have a nice time together. You two set this date, and I know you were excited to go. You should go have fun and be happy. That’s much more important than me.”  
     “Frisk, _nothing_ is more…” Undyne paused and sighed. “Okay, conversation over. Please let me through so I can get cleaned up.”  
     Undyne pushed her way forward, but Frisk grabbed her arm as she went by, stopping her.  
     “I’m serious. Please go on your date,” Frisk said.  
     “I’m not just going to run off and leave you here after letting that happen to you.”  
     “Letting it happen to me?” Frisk repeated, confused. “It’s not like you _allowed_ it to happen, Undyne. It was just a random incident. If anyone allowed it, it was me,” she went on.  
     “Move, Frisk.”  
     “Not until you say you’ll go tonight.”  
     Undyne gritted her teeth and conjured a spear into her hand.  
     Frisk scoffed. “Im not afraid of you, Undyne. I know you’d never hurt me.”  
     Undyne held her stance for a few moments, then relaxed her shoulders. “You’re right, damn it,” she said. Defeated, she sighed and released her grip on the spear, allowing it to dissipate. “Fine, I’ll go.”  
     Frisk’s eyes widened and a huge smile spread across her face. “Yes!” she cheered, pumping her fist victoriously. “Okay, while you’re getting cleaned up, I’ll go tell Papyrus,” she added, darting out of the room. But seconds later, she poked her head back in. “Oh, what you picked out to wear is great, by the way,” she said with a thumbs up.  
     Undyne shrugged, then waited to proceed until she was sure that Frisk was downstairs.  
     “Papyrus!” Frisk yelled before she even made it all the way down the stairs.   
     He practically jumped off of the couch and met her at the bottom of the staircase. “What is it?”  
     “Come here,” she said, not losing momentum. She tugged his arm as she continued her stride into the kitchen.   
     “Ow, hey, be careful,” he warned. “There’s not much holding me together, you know.”  
     “Undyne said she wants to go tonight,” Frisk said with a smile.  
     “Wait, what?” he said, giving a slight smile and chuckle. “Is… is she sure? What changed her mind?”  
     “I did,” Frisk answered proudly. “She said you guys didn’t want to go so you could stay here with me. But, I mean, as you can see, I’m fine! So I convinced her to change her mind!”  
     “And by convince, you mean pester, right?”  
     “Something like that,” Frisk laughed.  
     “Well, I mean, if she really does want to go…”  
     “Then the date is back on?”  
     “I guess so,” Papyrus shrugged.  
     “Perfect!”  
     “What goes on in here?” Sans asked, ambling in with his hands in his pockets. He leaned up against the counter. “Came in for some toast.”  
     “Help youself,” Papyrus said. “I think you will be pleased with how well it works. Your toast will be darkened exactly to you liking.”  
     Frisk nodded in agreement, then her and Papyrus went back to the living room, leaving Sans to figure out the toaster himself.  
     A few minutes later, Sans walked back into the living room with what appeared to be soot all over his face. Papyrus, Frisk and Asgore tried as hard as they could to contain their laughter, while Alphys’ jaw dropped.  
     “That was probably the best piece of toast I’ve ever had,” Sans said. “What… what are you all looking at?”  
     “Damn it!” Alphys said, walking over to Sans and wiping some of the grit off of his face. “Toaster residue…” she explained.  
     Alphys went to the kitchen to investigate. The same black substance covered the toaster and a portion of the counter. How Sans had not noticed, she didn’t have a clue. She cleaned everything up, then took the toaster back down to the lab.  
     Some time later, Undyne made her way down the stairs, her hair now composed of fiery red curls, bouncing softly with every step that she took. She turned into the living room.  
     “Sorry it took me so long,” she said, scratching the back of her neck. “I decided to actually do something different with my hair for once.”  
     “Sheesh, Undyne, way to keep my brother waiting,” Sans said. “He kept wondering why you were up there all afternoo-”  
     “Sans!” Papyrus yelled. “That’s… not true.”  
     “I know,” Undyne replied, sneering at Sans.  
     “You look really nice!” Frisk told her. “Try to top that, Papyrus.”  
     Papyrus scoffed. “I could be wearing the finest dress suit that money could buy, and still not look even half as good as Undyne.”  
     “Wow!” Frisk smiled. “If Papyrus gets any smoother, I’m going to slip and fall every time I see him.”  
     Undyne blushed and chuckled uncomfortably. “Heh, thanks, you two.”  
     “I’ll go get ready, then we’ll head out,” Papyrus said. “We can get dinner somewhere downtown, then walk around, take in the sights, drink tea… sound good?”  
     “Sounds great,” Undyne smiled. After Papyrus had gone upstairs, she turned to Frisk. “Now, you’re sure you’re okay?”  
     “I’m fine,” Frisk laughed. “Just peachy!”  
     Eventually, Papyrus came downstairs and him and Undyne left for the city. Since Undyne wasn’t at the house, Toriel decided to have some sort of dish involving snails for dinner.   
     Alphys hadn’t gone upstairs to eat with Frisk, Toriel, Asgore and Sans. She never even poked her head out of the lab or spoke through the intercom. Concerned, Frisk fixed up a plate of food for her, and went downstairs.  
     “Alphys?” Frisk said quietly, cautiously looking around as if something might jump out and scare her. “Alphys?” Frisk turned a corner and saw Alphys sitting at her work table, blankly staring at the toaster. “Hey,” Frisk addressed her.   
     “Hey,” Alphys responded flatly, her attention not shifting.  
     “You missed dinner…” Frisk said, taking one more step closer, still on guard for some reason. “I… brought you down a plate.”  
     “Thanks.”  
     Frisk walked over and set the plate down on the work table. She looked at Alphys out of the corner of her eye, and found that her gaze was very halfhearted. It was out of focus, distracted.  
     “What’s going on?”  
     “Just… working on the toaster.” Alphys lazily picked up a screwdriver and poked the metallic side of the toaster. She waved the tool back and forth, then tossed it back onto the table.  
     “Is… everything okay?” Frisk asked.  
     “Probably not,” Alphys answered, turning the toaster upside down. She let it casually roll out of her hand. “This stupid little thing…”  
     “Exactly, Alphys,” Frisk politely interrupted. “It’s just a silly kitchen appliance. Please don’t get too worked up over it.”  
     “It’s not _just_ a silly kitchen appliance,” Alphys retorted. “It’s a very clever reminder that I mess everything up.”  
     “Oh, come on now…”  
     “I just don’t understand. How is it that I was able to do so many bad things, but I can’t do one single damn thing right?”  
     “Alphys, stop. Please.” Frisk placed a hand on her shoulder. “You know that’s not true.” Alphys gave a weak breath of laughter. Frisk continued. “You have a very good, very kind soul. You are a brilliant scientist and an even better friend.”  
     “A better friend?” Alphys repeated. “Oh, please. You were unconscious on the couch and I couldn’t do a damn thing.”  
     “Is that what this is about?” Frisk questioned. Exasperated, she tossed her arms limply in the air then let them fall back to her side. “Why is everyone so concerned about that? It was just a hiking mishap. I’m fine.”  
     “We all care about you a whole lot, Frisk, we can’t help it. Monsters are much more emotional than humans. Come on, you’ve read the lore.”  
     Frisk shrugged. The books in the Snowdin Library did shed excellent light on how exactly monsters tick. Some of the emotions, morals and generally decent gestures that humans brush off were what monsters were practically composed of. Compassion, love, things of that nature.  
     “I appreciate it, I really do,” Frisk said. “It’s nice… refreshing… to be surrounded by people who care so much.” Frisk paused. “Alphys, you’ve done so many great things. I know it’s way too easy to focus on the handful of bad things that happen, but the good things far outweigh them. Just look at all the cool stuff you can do!” Frisk said, motioning around the lab. “You built Mettaton. Twice.”  
     “He hates me now.”  
     “You navigated me though the Core.”  
     “That was a facade.”  
     “You saved lives.”  
     “I ruined lives.”  
     “No, you made that right. You fixed things, Alphys. You fix everything!” Frisk sighed when Alphys didn’t respond. “Okay, let’s not talk about the past anymore. Let’s talk about right now.  
     “You built a lot of the things in this house, especially the appliances and electronics. You took them from shabby to state-of-the-art. You constructed a generator that supplies us with all the power we need to keep this place fully functional, and you power it with your own magic.  
     “You are _Doctor Alphys_. You are a genius! You’re beyond capable of doing anything you want to do. Whether it’s a profound science experiment that could change the world, or modifying a dumb old toaster, you can do it.”  
     After a few seconds, Alphys cracked a smile. “I mean, I guess I _am_ pretty smart.”  
     “Are you kidding me?” Frisk said lightheartedly. A smile spread across her face as well. “I can’t even think of a word to properly describe how smart you are. You’re excellent, Alphys. You’re amazing. I want so badly for you to know that.”  
     “You really think all that, huh?”  
     “I _know_ it.”  
     Alphys thought for a moment, then stood up. “Then… I’m going to try my hardest to make sure that rings true,” she said, her sheepish smile now one of confidence.  
     Frisk smiled and leaned forward, practically crashing into Alphys with a hug.   
     “Love you, Alph.”  
     Alphys stumbled backwards a step due to the energetic display of affection, regained her balance, then returned the gesture.  
     “Love you, Frisk.”

~~~

     Papyrus and Undyne exited a restaurant that sat right on the main drag of downtown Cheyenne. They turned onto the sidewalk and joined the rest of the fast paced nightlife.  
     “Thank you so much for dinner, Papyrus. It was nice,” Undyne smiled. “We didn’t have to go to such an upscale place, though.”  
     “Oh, don’t be silly,” he said. “Only the best!” He held his elbow out and gestured for Undyne to loop her arm inside. She did so. “Where to next?”  
     “Not sure,” Undyne answered, craning her neck to take in all the sights. It had been a long while since she had been to a city. “You come here way more often than I do. You know all the cool spots.”  
     Papyrus thought for a moment. “A couple of streets over is the shopping district.”  
     “I am not letting you spend any more money on me,” Undyne chuckled. “But I’d love to get a glimpse of what these city folk wear.”  
     They strolled up the street a little farther until they got to a crosswalk. Papyrus pushed the ‘walk’ button and looked both ways.  
     “We’ll have to move fast,” he advised. “Traffic here doesn’t exactly… yield for pedestrians.”  
     “Race ya,” Undyne smirked.  
     “A race?” Papyrus said, perplexed at first. He thought for a second, then got into a starting-line stance. “You’re on.”  
     The crosswalk signal turned over, and Papyrus darted across the street. Undyne bolted after him, taking swift steps, passing him easily. She slowed to a stop on the other side of the street, and Papyrus stumbled across as well, taking deep breaths as he recouped.  
     “Good one,” he exhaled. “We still have to go over one more street. Up for a rematch?”  
     Undyne laughed. “I think a better question would be, are _you_ up for a rematch? Or would you rather me carry you?”  
     “Carry me?” Papyrus exclaimed. “You will do no such thing! You have done enough running while carrying things for one day. And that mountain couldn’t have been an easy feat!”  
     The fins on the sides of Undyne’s head drooped slightly. She looked down at her shoes and kicked a nearby pebble around.  
     “Oh…” Papyrus murmured. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned that.”  
     “Nah, it’s okay. The mountain was nothing,” Undyne said. “It’s fine, really. And Frisk is fine. She said so herself.”  
     “That’s true,” Papyrus agreed. “And Frisk wouldn’t lie!”  
     For a few moments, Undyne was lost in thought. She furrowed her brow as if she were figuring out some sort of puzzle. After a couple seconds, her expression changed from contemplative to a mixture of irritation and realization.  
     “No… no she wouldn’t.”

~~~

     Frisk sat in the lab with Alphys while she ate her dinner, then the two of them ventured upstairs to see what Toriel, Asgore and Sans were up to. It was a rare sight to see Asgore not sitting in his designated recliner, but tonight he sat on the couch with Toriel. Sans sat on the far end of the other couch.  
     “Oh, you two are just in time!” Toriel smiled. “I just convinced Asgore to get the karaoke machine out!”  
     Asgore threw his head back and sighed, although he too wore a smile. “I did not say that I would do that, Tori.”  
     “Oh, come on, now,” she persisted, placing a hand on his arm. “Frisk and I have never witnessed your karaoke prowess. That’s hardly fair.”  
     Asgore thought for a moment, then glanced out of the corner of his eye at Frisk, who was looking back at him expectantly. He stood up, his own expression solemn. Toriel’s brow arched in concern.  
     “Alright,” he conceded, trying to keep a straight face. “I will do three songs.” At this point, everyone could tell he was feigning his serious attitude. “But…” he added, letting some giggles escape. “Each of you have to do at least one song, too.”  
     The different reactions amongst the present housemates were comical. Frisk’s eyes lit up and she grabbed Alphys’ arm in excitement. Alphys looked as if stage fright was already getting the best of her. Toriel let out a single boom of laughter, and Sans shot Asgore a very unenthusiastic glare.  
     Asgore held his hands out. “Well? Does the offer stand?”  
     Toriel reluctantly looked around the room at everyone, then shrugged. “The offer stands!”  
     “Wonderful!” Asgore bellowed. “I will retrieve the machine.” He clapped his hands couple times then scurried into the other room as well as a big guy can possibly scurry.   
     “Aw, look how excited he is!” Frisk said. “Dad is so cute.”  
     “Your dad has a multitude of redeeming qualities, yes,” Toriel agreed. “But, if I remember correctly, singing is not one of them.”  
     Frisk laughed. “Aw come on Mom, it can’t be that bad.”   
     “Just you wait, my child.”  
     A few minutes later, Asgore reentered the room carrying a very Mettaton-esque metal box, along with a cluster of wires and a microphone. He gently set them down in the middle of the room.  
     “Sans,” he said. “How about giving me a hand hooking this contraption up.” He clumsily fumbled with some of the wires.  
     “I’ll take care of it,” Sans replied. “I figured it out last time.”  
     “What song are you going to sing, Sans?” Alphys asked him, half jokingly.  
     “The song without words,” he answered.  
     “Aw, Sans, that’s so sweet!” Frisk said. He creased his forehead at her. “What? I thought you knew. ‘Song Without Words’ is the name of the second movement in Gustav Holst’s orchestral piece ‘Second Suite for Military Band in F-Major’ It’s also known as ‘I’ll Love My Love’.”  
     For a few moments, no one moved, all staring at Frisk with wide eyes. Asgore’s jaw hung open slightly.  
     “Frisk, you know the weirdest, most random assortment of stuff,” Sans eventually said. Frisk shrugged. “Uh, anyway,” Sans continued, “I’ll get this set up real fast. Who’s up first?”  
     “I’ll go first,” Asgore volunteered. “Better warm up the old vocal chords.”  
     Toriel practically jumped off the couch and rushed to Asgore’s side. “No, no, dearest. There is no need for that,” she said. “Your voice is… is perfect just the way it is.”  
     “You’re too sweet,” Asgore beamed.  
     “Okay,” Sans said. “Let me just fiddle with the remote for a few seconds here.” He pressed a few buttons, and the karaoke screen popped up on the television. “You’re up, Asgore. Pick your tune.”  
     Asgore stood right in front of the TV, purposely blocking everyone’s view of the screen. He used the remote to scroll through the selection of songs.  
     “Hmm,” he said. “This looks like a good one to get things started.”  
     He pressed a button, and within seconds, the always identifiable intro to ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ began to play. He bobbed his head in time with the music.  
     “Just a small town girl,” he belted, dramatically pointing at Toriel. “Living in a lonely world…” He had a theatrical movement for almost every line of the song. Toriel, Alphys and Frisk were bubbling with laughter. Sans looked embarrassed, yet contemplative.  
     The song ended, and Asgore took a bow. Everyone gave him a round of applause, and Frisk cheered.  
     “I’ll go next. Get it over with,” Sans said. He walked up front and Asgore handed him the mic. He cleared his throat and pretended to adjust the mic as if it were on a stand. “Anyway, here’s Wonderwall,” he joked. Instead, he selected ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’. He did fairly well, and gang applauded him as well.  
     Toriel went next, and she sang a country song in which the artist sings about how happy she is with her life. Frisk was mesmerized. She loved hearing Toriel sing, or even just hum. The tone of her voice was soft and soothing, yet strong. She sounded as if she cared deeply for each note she sang.  
     They all clapped when she was through, and Asgore gave a standing ovation. Alphys discreetly looked around the room, hoping either Asgore or Frisk would volunteer to follow that performance.  
     “I’ll go next!” Frisk said, much to Alphys’ relief. Frisk took a moment to examine her options. “Oh! I got it!” She pressed a button and let the music get started, then rushed over to the coat hook and grabbed one of Papyrus’ snapbacks. She put it on and twisted it backwards, then gave a flawless performance of ‘Rapper’s Delight’. When the song was over, she confidently dropped the mic.  
     “Ohhh! The mic drop!” Alphys noted. “Frisk is straight thuggin’.”  
     Frisk laughed and plopped back down onto the couch. “Please. I am the least thuggish person in history. Dad, round two?”  
     “Sure, I’ll go again,” he said.   
     This time around he sang ‘Enter Sandman’. He didn’t do a bad job, but his low, booming voice gave the song an extra creepy twist.  
     “G-guess it’s my turn, huh?” Alphys said. She stood up and scrolled through the song list. “I don’t even recognize most of these…” she said. She eventually picked a song and settled into the infectious rhythm.  
     “We can dance if you want to, we can leave your friends behind. ‘Cause your friends don’t dance, and if they don’t dance, well they’re no friends of mine,” she sang.   
     “‘Safety Dance’, good one!” Frisk said once the song was over, giving Alphys a round of applause. “My… uh… someone I used to know… used to listen to that song all the time,” she added.  
     There were a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, then Asgore patted his knees a couple times and got off of the couch.  
     “Looks like I’m the opening act and the closing number, huh?” he said. “Alright, I’ll try to pick a really good one!” He thought for a moment. “It appears I’m going to need some help with this last one.” He made his selection, then cleared his throat.  
     “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality.”  
     A smile spread across Frisk’s face, and she nudged Sans in the arm. She joined Asgore in front of the screen, and he handed her the microphone.   
     “Mama, I just killed a man. Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he’s dead,” she sang, adding some theatrics. Toriel laughed, fully aware of the irony in the stanzas Frisk chose to sing.  
     The song neared it’s end, and the music began to intensify. Much to everyone’s surprise, Sans was the next to make his way to the center of the room to join the song. That gave Alphys the courage to go as well, and she grabbed Toriel’s hand and brought her up too.   
     There the five of them stood, bunched together in front of the TV, singing and snickering and trying not to mess up the words. They all huddled around the mic, bobbing their heads to the tune and purposely belting incorrect notes.  
     The end of the song brought laughter, so much so that Toriel had to wipe a tear away.  
     “Oh my gosh, that was too fun,” Alphys said.  
     “Yeah, it was,” Frisk agreed. “Who all wants some water?” she asked, fanning herself with the hat. “I’m almost breaking a sweat.”  
     “Water would be nice, please,” Asgore said.  
     Sans nudged Frisk with his elbow and nodded towards the kitchen. “We’ll get a bottle for everyone, okay? I’ll help you carry them.”

~~~

     Undyne and Papyrus continued their stroll down the city streets, now hand in hand. They had made it through the fashion district, and Undyne was unable to contain her laughter.  
     “I can’t believe there are people out there who wear things like that,” she chuckled.  
     “Now, are you _sure_ you don’t want that bedazzled leather vest?” he asked jokingly. “Because I’ll buy it for you.”  
     “I am entirely positive,” she confirmed. “That thing was ridiculous. Not to mention expensive. I’m pretty sure it was, like, a thousand dollars or something.”  
     “Yeah, but that’s in surface currency,” he pointed out. “If we were still in the Underground, every monster would own at least three of those.”  
     “You’re not buying me the vest, Papyrus.”  
     He laughed. “Alright then. How about a cup of tea instead?”  
     “A cup of tea would be lovely,” she smiled.  
     The two them made their way to a coffee shop a little ways down the street, and each got a tall cup of golden flower tea. The tea in one hand, and each other’s hand in the other, they walked to a small park and sat down on a bench.  
     “I’ve had a really nice time this evening,” Undyne said.  
     Papyrus sipped his tea. “Really? Good, I have too. Would you… maybe like to do this again sometime?”  
     “Absolutely,” she answered with a smile. “Don’t you think it’s odd, though, that after this, we’ll both go back to the same house? Like, instead of you walking me to the front door and saying a proper ‘goodnight’, we’ll just go home and sit in the living room?”  
     “That is a little bizarre,” Papyrus chuckled, then, he sighed. “They’re going to razz us pretty badly, I imagine. My brother, especially.”  
     “Yeah, I was thinking that, too,” Undyne said, taking a long drink of tea. “Well, I promise that I’ll try not to make things at the house weird and awkward if you do, too.”  
     “Promise,” he smiled. “Nothing weird or out of the ordinary when we’re not in Date Mode! Except the occasional hand holding, maybe.”  
     “Yes, the occasional hand-hold is encouraged,” she chuckled. “But not nose-nuzzling. We don’t want to challenge the Champs.”   
     “Agreed! But also because I do not have a nose.”  
     “Ha! That’s right! Neither do I!” Undyne laughed. She looked across the street out of the corner of her eye. “Hey, Papyrus, don’t look now, but that kid across the street has been hardcore staring at us ever since we sat down. Is that the same kid from the grocery store?”  
     “Really? That’s a little rude. Let me get a better look at him.” Papyrus turned his head to look, but just as he did, Undyne stomped on his foot. “Hey, ouch!”  
     “I told you not to look!” she whispered.  
     “Yes, but you also asked me a question that would require me looking at him to answer!” Papyrus retorted.  
     “I just don’t want him to catch us looking back at him,” Undyne explained.  
     Papyrus paused for a moment. “To answer your question, I do believe that is the same boy who gave us the stink eye at the grocery store.” He paused again. “Well, as long as he’s staring at us, maybe we should give him something to stare at.”  
     Undyne furrowed her brow, but before she could say anything, Papyrus leaned forward and pressed his face against hers in what she assumed was supposed to be some kind of attempt at a kiss, although it was really nothing more than his chin bumping into hers.  
     She blushed, then mentally commended Papyrus for doing the best he could without having any lips.  
     They separated, and gave each other a sheepish smile. Papyrus laughed uncomfortably.  
     “I’m sorry. That was dumb,” he said.  
     “No, no,” she reassured him. “No it wasn’t.”  
     “I should have quit while I was ahead.”  
     “Oh my goodness, stop it,” she giggled, lightly punching him in his shoulder. “It’s alright.” She paused, then looked across the street again. “He’s… still staring.”  
     “I wonder if he would approach us if we tried to go somewhere else,” Papyrus thought out loud.  
     “Well if he did, I’d dropkick him so hard that he’d land in the next state over,” Undyne said.  
     “No you wouldn’t,” Papyrus laughed. “You’re too nice.”  
     “Ugh, I know,” Undyne scoffed. “How I ever got around to being such a softie, I’ll never know.” They were silent for a little while.  
     “Well, what do you say we take one more stroll down Main Street to look at the lights, then head home?” Papyrus suggested.  
     “Sounds good to me.” Undyne stood up and looked across the road once more. The boy was no longer where he had been sitting.

~~~

     “You were a regular ol’ rockstar out there, Sans!” Frisk marveled when they got to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and started placing bottles of water on the island.  
     Sans shrugged. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” he said, picking up a few of the bottles. “Nevertheless, I’m glad Paps wasn’t here to see that.”  
     “Why’s that?”  
     “Are you kidding? He would never let me live that one down.”  
     “Oh, come on now. Papyrus isn’t like that. He would have gotten right up there with you and made it a duet.”  
     Sans shrugged again. “Anyway, let’s get these waters to everyone.”  
     By the time Sans and Frisk made it back to the living room, Alphys had gotten the television back to normal and Asgore put the karaoke machine away. Everyone had taken a seat, and Toriel flipped through the channels until she found one airing a cake baking competition.  
     Frisk quickly downed her water, as did Asgore. She gathered their empty bottles and took them back to the kitchen. Toriel followed.  
     “My child, forgive me for meddling, but I am curious,” she said. “That… ‘someone that you used to know’ who used to often sing the Safety song, would that happen to be your mother?”  
     “Uh, yeah,” Frisk admitted. “Heh. How did you know?”  
     “Just a guess, I suppose. There had been a change in your tone.”  
     Frisk paused before continuing the conversation. “She used to play that song almost full volume as she cleaned the house. She would sing along and dance like a robot.” She chuckled. “This one time she was dancing and knocked over a lamp. It didn’t break or anything, but she was still mortified.”  
     Toriel offered Frisk a soft smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. They stayed that way for a while, while Frisk ran through a series of thoughts that had entered her head.  
     “I think I’ll head up to my office. I have some work to do,” Frisk said. Toriel nodded and let her go.  
     Frisk hustled to her office and firmly shut the door behind her. She plopped down into her chair and wheeled it over to her desk, propping her elbows on the desk and placing her hands over her face.  
     She stayed like that for a few minutes, and when she removed her hands from her face, she found that they were damp. She dried her eyes and sniffled a few times, then got a piece of her personalized stationary out and began to write.


	13. Chapter12

     The car ride home from the city was quiet. Undyne’s mind was moving at about a mile a minute, while Papyrus was simply wondering why Undyne wasn’t being her usual loud, talkative self.   
     While in the city, after Papyrus had mentioned the mountain, she realized that Frisk’s story didn’t exactly add up. It both worried and angered her that Frisk was keeping something from her.  
     The car pulled into the garage, and Papyrus turned the car off and looked over at her.  
     “So, uh, what’s going on inside that pretty little head of yours? You were being awfully quiet.”  
     “Huh? What?” she said, snapping back to attention. “Oh, nothing.” Papyrus scoffed, unconvinced. “Alright, fine,” Undyne conceded. “I was just thinking about… how… you only kissed me because that guy was watching,” she said, not technically a lie.  
     “What? That’s not true. I most certainly would have kissed you anyway,” Papyrus said. Undyne shrugged. “What, you don’t believe me?” he asked, although his tone was light. “Well, there’s no one watching right now…”  
     They both smiled and leaned forward towards each other. But, as they did, there was a knock at the driver’s side window.  
     “Hey guys,” Sans said, his voice muffled through the window. “Heard the car pull in, thought I’d come see what’s up.”  
     “Sans!” Papyrus yelled. Undyne leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms.  
     “You two coming inside, or what? There’s a movie on TV,” Sans said.  
     Papyrus sighed. “Yes, Sans, we’ll be right in.”  
     “Great,” he smiled. He didn’t walk away from the window. He just kept standing there, smiling at them. Undyne rolled her eye and got out of the car. Papyrus got out as well, pushing Sans with the door.  
     “Thank you for a wonderful evening, Papyrus,” she said with a single nod of her head. She walked inside.   
     Papyrus turned and glared at Sans for a good thirty seconds, while Sans kept wearing his goofy smile.  
     “Come on, you know you love me,” Sans said, raising his shoulders.  
     “I know, dang it!” Papyrus conceded, storming inside. He caught up with Undyne just as she made it to the living room.  
     “Hey, gang,” he greeted everyone.  
     “Oh, hello, you two,” Toriel replied. “Back so soon?”  
     “Yeah,” Undyne said flatly. She looked around the room. “Where’s Frisk?”  
     “In her office,” Alphys answered. “She’s missing this quality movie.” Before Alphys had even finished the sentence, Undyne was halfway up the stairs.  
     She knocked forcefully on the office door.  
     “Come in.”  
     Undyne let herself in and closed the door behind her.  
     “Undyne! Hey!” Frisk smiled and pushed some things around on her desk. “How was the da-”  
     “Alright, you big nerd. Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on?” Undyne demanded, crossing her arms.  
     “Wait, what?”  
     “A Charley Horse? Dizziness due to the change in elevation? Come on. Just a couple weeks ago you were telling everyone what an avid adventurer and mountain climber you were while you were on the run,” Undyne explained. “Those things shouldn’t have bothered you.”  
     Frisk blushed, and began to think on her feet. “Well, I, uh, that was a long time ago, you know… I was kind of out of practice, and…”  
     “Frisk.”  
     Frisk opened her mouth to continue, but for a few seconds, no words came out. “I…I…I don’t know what to tell you…” she finally said.  
     “How about the truth?” Undyne retorted. She sighed and pulled the extra chair up and sat down, looking Frisk right in the eyes. “Frisk, come on now. You may have been able to fool Tori and Gorey, but not me.” Frisk shook her head and looked away, darting her eyes elsewhere throughout the room. “Why are you lying to me?”  
     That one got to Frisk. Yes, Undyne’s tone was rough, but just then, it was almost vulnerable. She was mad that Frisk was lying to her, but she was also hurt.   
     It hurt Frisk, too. She lied to her best friend, someone she considered an older sister. That’s something she thought she’d never do, and she didn’t like it. It left an uneasy feeling in her stomach.  
     “Okay, okay, fine.” Frisk took a deep breath. “Truth is, I’ve been having these really weird… things… happening to me.”  
     “You mean… puberty?”  
     “No!” Frisk blushed.  
     Undyne exhaled. “Good. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to have that talk with you.”  
     “You’re about five years too late, there, my friend,” Frisk said. “But anyway, I’m not quite sure what to call them, because frankly I’m not sure what they are… Dreams, visions, hallucinations…”  
     Undyne furrowed her brow. “Of what?”  
     “Of… Asriel.”  
     “What?” Undyne practically yelled in shock.  
     “Shh, shh!” Frisk said, waving her hands around. “Please… keep it down.” Undyne nodded, then Frisk went on. “I guess ‘dreams’ would be the best things to call them, because Asriel will show up while I’m asleep. But only here and there, not every time I sleep.”  
     “Asriel, the Ruined Prince, appears to you in your dreams…”  
     “Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy. But it’s true, and it’s the weirdest thing. We can talk to each other, we can see each other, I can feel his presence, but at the same time, he’s just an illusion. I can’t touch him, my hand goes right through him. I can’t figure it out.”  
     “How many times has this happened?”  
     “Only a handful.”  
     “So, that’s what happened on the mountain? He came to you in one of those dreams?” Undyne thought for a second. “But wait, you weren’t sleeping.”  
     “Yeah, that’s the thing. On the mountain, I did have an episode involving a dream much like the dreams that Asriel will use to communicate with me. But this time it wasn’t Asriel who came to me. It was Chara.”  
     Undyne blinked a few times, then ran her fingers through her hair. “Oh boy…”  
     “Yeah,” Frisk agreed. “When Asriel appears to me in my sleep, it’s a calm, peaceful process. But when Chara appeared… well, you saw what happened.”  
     Undyne gave a single breath of halfhearted laughter. “Yeah…”  
     “It hurt so bad,” Frisk said. “I tried to fight it, I really did. But that only seemed to make it worse. Once I lost consciousness, that’s when she appeared.”  
     “What happened then? What did she say to you?” Undyne said, clenching her fists.  
     “Too much,” Frisk said. “She told me a cute little story about what she’s been up to this past year, blah, blah, blah,” Frisk said. “But most notably, she said that… out there, right in Cheyenne, actually, there’s a group of humans planning an attack on the monsters.”  
     Undyne’s jaw dropped. “Humans… planning to attack?”  
     Frisk shrugged. “That’s what Chara told me. I’m not sure what level of truth that holds.” She paused. “But, I think we need to take the warning seriously, because… Asriel told me that there are monsters who stayed behind in the Underground, and they’re planning an attack on humans.”  
     Undyne leaned back in the chair and took a long, deep breath. She placed a hand on her forehead. “Damn…”  
     “I know…” Frisk said. Things were quiet for a few moments. “Undyne, I’m so sorry I kept that from you. I’m sorry I lied to you… to everyone. It’s just… I just… didn’t know how to say all of that. Especially to Mom and Dad.”  
     “It’s alright, Frisk. I can understand that, to an extent,” she said. “It’s only fair that you take your time to figure all of this out. But eventually you’ll have to tell the others, you know.”  
     Frisk sighed. “I know…”  
     “If all this stuff about attacks is true, we’re going to have to think up a game plan, here. We’re going to need all hands on deck.”  
     “I understand.”  
     Undyne stood up. “C’mere, you little nerd.”  
     Frisk gave a small smile and stood up. They hugged. “I’m sorry, Undyne.”  
     “It’s okay, okay?” she replied. “I’m sorry that all of this is happening to you. But it must be for a good reason, you know?” Frisk nodded. “And listen… I don’t want you to ever be afraid to tell me something, okay? I will always, _always_ have your back, got it?”  
     Frisk smiled. “I know. That was proved pretty full well earlier today, I would say.” She paused. “Thank you. For everything.”  
     Undyne smiled fondly. “You’re welcome, kiddo.”  
     “I’m sorry I ruined our Girls’ Day. Can we plan another one?”  
     “Of course we can!” Undyne answered, her smile growing into her usual huge, toothy grin.  
     “Great!” Frisk said, clapping a few times. She sat back down. “So tell me all about the date!”  
     “Right!” Undyne sat down as well. “Okay, so first, we went out to eat at this fancy restaurant downtown. I ate, like, practically an entire chicken, and Papyrus had a huge cheeseburger. Then…”

~~~

     The two of them stayed up late into the night chatting. Eventually they departed to their respective rooms and got some sleep.   
     The next morning, after breakfast, Frisk stuck around in the kitchen to help Toriel clean everything up.  
     “Hey, Mom,” she said as she wiped off the island with a wet cloth. “After we’re done here, may I see you in my office?”  
     “You may,” Toriel answered. “Am I in trouble?” she joked.  
     “Of course not, silly,” Frisk said. “I just have something that I want to run by you.”  
     “Oh, alright! Well let’s go, then.”  
     Frisk led the way upstairs, held the office door open for Toriel, then went in also, shutting the door behind them. Frisk took a seat at her desk, put on her glasses, and fiddled around with some papers.  
     “Looks like you’ve been hard at work,” Toriel observed, having a seat in the extra chair.  
     “Yeah, I spent all of last evening on this,” Frisk said. She found the paper she was looking for and held it up while she pushed the others to the side. “It’s a letter. To my mother.”  
     Toriel’s eyes widened. “A… letter to your mother?”  
     Frisk nodded. “I decided to take your advice and reach out to her. I was wondering if I could read you the letter. I want to make sure it sounds okay before I send it.”  
     “Absolutely, my child.”  
     “Okay,” Frisk said. “Here we go then.” She took a deep breath.

“Claire Everett,

     It’s been a long time since you’ve heard from me. Part of me wonders how things have been with you, but the other part hasn’t even given you a second thought. Does that make sense? Does that sound at all familiar?  
     It occurs to me that, despite your general attitude towards me when I lived with you, you may have been hurt by my departure. My leaving home could have caused you a lot of grief, a lot of worry.   
     If you were concerned about me, if you were worried, upset, angry, scared, I truly apologize for that. My intention was not to hurt you, nor was it to ruin the image of our family that you worked so hard to perfect. I left to find happiness. I left to find myself.  
     I found what I was looking for. I found a family. I found a mother who loves me and who protects me. I found a father who would do anything for me. I found people who are the closest things to siblings that I will ever have. Unless, that is, so much has changed since I’ve left.   
     As for who these people are and how I found them, it’s complicated. Please do not ask. If you decide you want to know so badly, turn on the news or read a newspaper. You’re bound to find out.  
     As I said earlier, If I’ve ruptured your feelings in any way, I apologize. But I will not apologize for leaving. I will not apologize for looking out for myself. For being more happy than I could have ever imagined, I will not apologize.  
     I do, however, want you to know that I am alright. I am safe, I am happy, I am healthy, and I am thriving. Please don’t worry about me. Don’t even let me cross your mind. I am just fine, and so it will be for a very long time.  
     You may be feeling a range of emotions. You may be feeling nothing at all. Either way, I hope this brings you closure. I know it has done so for me.

                                                                     ~Frisk Dreemurr”.

     When Frisk had finished reading, she let out a heavy sigh and set the letter back on her desk. Her and Toriel were both quiet for a few moments.   
     “Well… what do you think?” Frisk asked.  
     Toriel smiled. “I think it’s very well done. You said what you wanted to say, and you said it very intelligently. I think you got your point across clearly.”  
     “So you think it’s alright, then?”  
     Toriel nodded. “Good job, my child.” She stood up and gave Frisk a kiss on the top of her head.  
     “Thanks,” Frisk replied. “It was… hard to do,” she added, motioning to all the crumpled up papers in the small trash bin under her desk. “Is that weird?”  
     “No, of course not,” Toriel answered. “That sounds perfectly normal to me, as a matter of fact. This is a very brave, strong thing to do, to confront someone who has hurt you. I don’t see how it could have been easy.”  
     “Okay, good.” Frisk folded the letter and sealed it in an envelope. “I’ll mail it the first chance I get, then.”  
     “How are you feeling today, by the way?” Toriel asked her. “Your head and your legs, are they better?”  
     “Yeah, they feel a lot better, actually. I feel good. Thanks for asking.” Frisk played with her hair a little bit. “What do you think you’ll get into today, Mom?”  
     “Oh, I don’t know,” Toriel sighed. “Your dad accidentally ripped one of his shirts on his horns, so I suppose I’ll sew that up today,” she chuckled. “I’ll do some laundry, maybe read if I have time. What will you do?”  
     Frisk thought for a moment. “I think I’ll make some phone calls. Maybe try to gain some ground on this radio station project.”  
     “Do not work too hard, little one. Let any of us know if you need anything,” Toriel said. Frisk nodded, then Toriel let herself out of the room.  
     Frisk got her notebook out and opened it. She drummed her fingers for a couple minutes, then scribbled a few things in the margins of a piece of paper. She got her phone out and scrolled through her contacts, then picked a number to call. The more the phone rang without answer, the more nervous she got.  
     Finally, someone picked up.  
     “Frisk, darling!”  
     “Mettaton! Hey!”

~~~

     Alphys came up from her lab carrying the toaster. “It _has_ to be fixed this time!” she said as she passed through the living room. “I’m sure of it. It’s good now.”  
     “Seventeenth time’s the charm,” Sans joked.  
     “Hey, cut the sass,” she said. “I did this whole thing for you, anyway.” After realizing what she had said, she blushed. “I mean, uh, I did this for you… and… anyone else who may like their toast burnt to a crisp.” She scurried into the kitchen.  
     Papyrus looked over at Sans with a sly smile.  
     “Don’t even, bro,” Sans said.  
     “Oh, what?” Papyrus started. “So you can mock me and make things awkward and difficult for me, but I can’t make a simple vague implication?”  
     “Bingo. That’s kinda how the whole ‘big-brother-little-brother’ thing goes,” Sans winked.  
     “Well I don’t want to be the little brother anymore. It stinks. Trade me.”  
     Sans chuckled. “That’s not how it works, Paps.”   
     Papyrus looked over his shoulder, then back at Sans. “Go say something to her,” he said.  
     “Nah bro, I’m good.”  
     “Hey Alphys! Sans has something to say to you!” Papyrus yelled. “Nyeh heh heh…” he whispered as he jumped off of the couch and out of Sans’ reach. He rushed into the dining room.  
     Alphys came back in from the kitchen and cocked her head to the side. “Hm? What is it, Sans?”  
     “Just, uh,” he stuttered, thinking on his feet. “Thanks for working so hard on the toaster. That was pretty nice of you,” he said. “If you ever need me to help out with something, let me know.”  
     “Oh! Uh, thanks,” Alphys answered. “Will do.”  
     Just as Toriel was coming down the stairs, Undyne came up from the basement.  
     “Did I miss breakfast?” she said.  
     “Yeah, but you’re welcome to a slice of toast from the new and improved toaster!” Alphys said.  
     A series of thoughts involving explosions ran through Undyne’s head. “Um, sure! Why not?”  
     “Great! Be right back!” said Alphys.  
     “Where is Asgore? I thought he was in the gym with you,” Toriel said.  
     As if on cue, Asgore came clomping up the stairs. Undyne moved out of the way so he could enter the living room. He stumbled through the door, his breathing slightly labored.  
     “Honey, are you okay?” Toriel gasped, walking over to him and placing a hand on his back.  
     “I’m fine, dear,” he said. “It’s just been a long time since I’ve engaged in that sort of training.”  
     “He did okay with the weights, but the crunches and the treadmill really got to him,” Undyne explained, putting her hands on her hips. “He’ll be fine, though. Just needs to take it easy next time.”  
     “The tables have sure turned, haven’t they, Undyne?” he chuckled. “I used to be the one training you until you could hardly stand.”  
     “Yeah, funny how that works, huh?” she laughed. “Let’s go get something to eat, big guy. Gotta refuel the tanks.”  
     They started for the kitchen, and by the time they got there, Alphys had already prepared a snack for them.  
     “Look, the toaster didn’t malfunction!” Alphys said proudly, motioning to it as if it were a prize on a game show.   
     “Nice job!” Undyne smiled. “What’s next on the list?”  
     “What am I going to do next?” Alphys exhaled heavily. “Gosh, I’m not sure. Guess I’ll have to think about it. Any suggestions, Asgore?”  
     Asgore took a bite of the peanut butter toast that Alphys made for him. He thought for a moment. “Hmm, nothing comes to mind right now. Then again, if something around here did need repaired, it’s not like I’d be able to tell.”  
     Undyne laughed. “Well, you’re not wrong. The TV could be sparking and smoking and you’d be all, ‘This is fine’.” She ate her piece of toast and walked to the fridge for some chocolate milk. “Hey Alphys, is there any way you could make the treadmill go faster?”  
     “Does the treadmill need to go faster?”  
     “Well, uh, no, not really, but…”  
     “S-s-something tells me that’s not such a good idea,” Alphys replied hesitantly. The thought of disagreeing with Undyne and potentially making her mad was intimidating.   
     “Eh, maybe you’re right,” Undyne said. Alphys breathed a quiet sigh of relief.   
     “I can say for sure that the treadmill most definitely does not need to go faster,” Asgore said.   
     “Buddy, you weren’t even going full speed,” Undyne pointed out.  
     Frisk trotted down the stairs and into the kitchen. She leaned up against the counter next to Undyne. “Hey Dad, Undyne. Missed you two at breakfast.”  
     “Hey, Squirt,” Undyne said, messing up Frisk’s hair. “Working hard or hardly working?”  
     “Both,” Frisk laughed. “You okay, Dad? You look wiped.”  
     “I’m fine,” he smiled. “I just need a shower and a nap, that’s all.”  
     “So you probably wouldn’t want to go for a walk then, huh?” Frisk asked.   
     “Ha! A walk?” Asgore bellowed. “I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to get out of this seat.”  
     “Oh, come on,” Alphys said. “Don’t tell me you’ve gone that soft.” Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Undyne nodding discreetly. “Oh, uh,” she stammered. “I mean, working out is hard. I could never do it. I don’t blame you.”  
     “I’d take a walk with you, Frisk,” Undyne said.   
     “Yeah, I’ll go too!” Alphys chimed in. “Let me see if Sans and Papyrus want to go, too.” She left the kitchen, and Undyne and Frisk followed.  
     “Wait! Where are you going? I need help up!” Asgore yelled after them.

~~~

     Frisk, Undyne, Alphys, Sans, Papyrus and Toriel took a walk to the other side of the mountain. Once they were on the other side, they took a few minutes to look around.  
     “I never realized how hilly it is over here,” Toriel commented, walking to the top of one off the small hills and observing the surroundings. The others joined her.  
     “You can see that little dirt road from here,” Frisk noticed.  
     Sans squinted. “Do those tire tracks look fresh to you guys?”  
     “How should I know?” Undyne scoffed. “Tracks are tracks, aren’t they?”  
     Alphys shrugged. “I’d have to get a closer look to know for sure.”  
     “Nah, it’s not a big deal or anything,” Sans said. “I just thought it kind of strange that there would be people driving all the way out here.”  
     “We _are_ in the middle of nowhere,” Papyrus commented.  
     “It’s probably just people coming to hike the mountains,” Frisk said. “As if those city slickers don’t have enough fun things to do.”  
     “Hm, I don’t know,” Sans said. “Got a weird feeling about this one.” He paused, and no one said anything. “Let’s head back.”  
     They all took Sans’ advice and made their way back to the house. The rest of the day was uneventful, and night seemed to fall quickly. The days were getting shorter and colder.  
     Frisk curled up into bed that night in her coziest pajamas. She snuggled under the covers comfortably and was out like a light. After getting a measurable amount of sleep, she woke up internally and was once again in a dark, empty space.  
     Her eyes widened and she looked around cautiously, not knowing which of the two disembodiments she would encounter. Honestly, she was afraid of them both. It was understandable to be frightened of Chara, but she was also worried about her next run in with Asriel, based on how the last one went.  
     “H-hello?” she called.  
     “Hello.”  
     Asriel’s voice. Frisk found herself breathing a sigh of relief. He appeared in front of her, taking full advantage of the fact that he was taller by looking down at her with tired eyes.  
     “Asriel, is everything okay? You look…” she paused to use her vocabulary wisely. “A little out of it.”  
     “I’m fine,” he answered. “I’ve just… been trying to figure some things out.”  
     “You too, huh?” Frisk chuckled. “Yeah, I know the feeling.”  
     “How have things been up here? What’s been going on?” Asriel asked.   
     Frisk sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Too much,” she answered. “I, uh, had an encounter the other day with… um,” She didn’t even want to say her name. Not in front of Asriel. “Your, uh, best friend.”  
     Asriel’s expression changed from worn out, to something that Frisk couldn’t quite place a finger on. But whatever it was, it made her heart drop. She gulped and waited for him to say something.  
     “Chara…” Asriel looked away. “What’s _she_ doing here?”  
     “I don’t know…”  
     “What did she want? What did she say to you?” Asriel said, his voice now shaky.  
     Frisk took a moment to collect her thoughts. “You’re not going to like this…” she started. She took a deep breath. “She told me that there is a group of humans about 25 miles from where we’re living who are planning an attack on monsters.”  
     Asriel’s breathing grew labored. “This can’t be.” He placed his hands on his head. “This _can’t_ be.”  
     “Asriel…”  
     “This is bad, Frisk.”  
     “I know… but we’ll figure it out, okay?”  
     “How, Frisk?” Asriel asked. “How are we going to handle all of this? We still have to figure out what to do about the monsters, and now we have the humans to think about too? And even with all of this going on, finding a way to resurrect me is _still_ on your list of priorities?”  
     “Yes, Asriel, it is. Not only is it something that should be done for you and for everyone else, but if we can accomplish that before these attacks, then that could be of great help to us.”  
     “But _how_?” Asriel went on. “We both have pretty full plates. These things need to be focused on now.”  
     “I know, I know,” Frisk said. “We will figure this out, I promise. I’ve got Alphys and Undyne on my side. That’s all the brains and brawn we’ll ever need.”  
     “So they know about all of this too?”  
     “Well, just Undyne,” Frisk said. “I haven’t exactly worked up the heart to spill the details to Alphys, or to even mention it to the others…” Frisk paused. “But we’ve got this. I know we do.”  
     Asriel sighed, much calmer than he was just seconds before. “Frisk… I hope you’re right. I’m placing my trust in you that you’ll keep the gears turning on this side of the world. I trust that you’ll help me with this. So please… don’t prove me to be a fool again.” His eyes were weary. “I can’t afford to misplace my trust… not again.”  
     “Asriel, I promise you, I will do everything I can. We will all do everything we can.” She gathered her thoughts for a moment. “I would never ever do anything to betray your trust. I’m not like her, Asriel. You said so once yourself.”  
     He gave a faint smile. “Yes, that’s true, isn’t it?”  
     Frisk nodded, and the two of them were silent for a few minutes.  
     “Now that that’s settled,” Frisk started, “I’d like to talk about something else while you’re here. It’s about the locket.”  
     “Ah, yes. That old thing.”  
     “Are you mad?” Frisk asked cautiously. “Does it upset you that Mom gave it to me?”  
     “No, of course not,” Asriel answered. “It’s only right that she gave it to you. _You’re_ her child now.” He paused. “There’s just… something about it.”  
     “So, what happened to you when you came in contact with it?”  
     “What do you mean?”  
     “When you touched the locket, it startled me awake, but something didn’t feel right. It felt like part of me was missing. I got so lightheaded, then I passed out.”  
     Asriel winced. “Oh, I’m sorry about that.” He breathed a heavy sigh. “You want to know what happened to me? I… I felt again.”  
     “You what? Felt?” Frisk cocked her head to the side. “Felt what?”  
     “It’s kind of hard to describe,” Asriel said. “But I’ll try. I had a reaction similar to yours. Our communication was rudely interrupted. I was brought back to myself. But just for a split second. For just a fraction of a heartbeat, I was me. Not that stupid flower I’m trapped inside. But just as quickly as it happened, I turned back into Flowey.”  
     “Wait, what?” Frisk exclaimed. “So… you touched the locket, and you were yourself again?”  
     “Just barely.”  
     Frisk thought for a moment. “Asriel, what if your soul is in the locket? That would explain your reaction. You were reunited with it!”  
     “That wouldn’t explain _your_ reaction, though,” he pointed out. “That leaves a lot of things unexplained, actually.”  
     “Details, details,” Frisk scoffed. “This is a legitimate theory that we should run with for a bit. Let’s play around with this.”  
     “I wish we could, but think about it. The starting line is also the finish line. As soon as I come in contact with the thing, we’re separated. And what’s more, that seems to physically wear you down.”  
     “Why are you being so pessimistic?” she questioned, crossing her arms. “We could be on to something here, Asriel.”  
     “Sorry. It’s just in my nature, I guess.”  
     “You’re right about what happens when you touch the locket, though. We’re disconnected immediately. We have to think of a better way.” The both of them brainstormed in silence. “I’ve got it!” Frisk said, snapping her fingers. “Come to the surface. I’ll put the locket on you and see what happens.”  
     “Are you kidding? Frisk, I can’t come to the surface as Flowey. It’s too dangerous.”  
     “Dangerous? Come on.”  
     “I’m serious. There’s no telling what could happen.”  
     “You’re not saying that you’d hurt someone, are you..?” Frisk asked hesitantly.   
     “Well no, not exactly. I don’t think I would. I no longer have a desire for that. But what would happen when I saw my parents again? How would I react? Either negatively or not at all. That’s… tough.” He paused. “Also, Frisk, I cannot stress how important this part is, Chara _cannot_ know that any part of me is still alive.”  
     “Yeah, I know that. That would be… beyond disastrous. There’s no telling what she would do with that information.”  
     “I’m sorry, Frisk. It’s a great idea, to have me come to the surface to test the locket, but it’s too risky.”  
     “Then I’ll go back to the Underground. I’ll go to you.”  
     “You will do no such thing. I will not allow that.”  
     “Asriel, please. I know we’re onto something here. We have to take another step.”  
     “I understand that. But this is not the right step to take. We can figure something else out.”  
     Frisk sighed. “Fine. I’ll wrack Alphys’ brain some more. Maybe she knows something about whether or not souls can attach themselves to material objects to keep themselves kicking.”  
     “I hate to be the bearer of hope-crushing reality, but…” Asriel started. Frisk rolled her eyes. “If my soul were located in the locket, the locket would be alive, would it not?”  
     Frisk placed a hand on her forehead. “All I’m going to say is… this is not as impossible as you’re trying to make it out to be.” She took a deep breath. “Touch the locket. Let’s see if it happens again.”  
     “What? Frisk, didn’t you say it made you pass out? I’m not going to do that to-”  
     “Do it, Asriel, I don’t care. We need to know as much about this phenomenon as we possibly can. And if that means repeating it over and over, then so be it.”  
     Asriel lowered his head for a few seconds, then raised it again. “Okay. Fine.” His expression and his tone of voice were solemn. “Are you ready?”  
     Frisk took the necklace out from under her sweater, nodded, and braced herself. Instead of lightly poking the locket as he did before, Asriel forcefully clenched it in his hand.   
     A flash of light, and he was back in the Underground. Shocked, he looked down and saw his own body for the first time in a long time. He gasped and shifted his attention to his trembling hands, one of which still had hold of the locket. He released his grip.  
     Instead of another beam of light, his world faded to black.


End file.
